Rohit was generously gifted in terms of picking length early. Hence, at times, in the sporadic appearances he made in Test cricket, his dismissals gave the impression that he didn't romance the
grind of Test cricket enough. Caught mid-on, caught mid-off, caught deep
cover, and caught deep mid-wicket after glorious 20s and 30s. It added to
the fans' frustrations and helped his critics sharpen their knives.
As Rohit prepares to lead India in the WTC final in what will be his 50th Test,
it was curious to hear him mention the word "grind" to derive success
in England. "England, in general, is pretty challenging conditions for
batters, but as long as you are prepared to have a good grind, you can
have success," he told the broadcasters during an event.
England
has been both kind and cruel to Rohit. His ungainly lofted shot against
Moeen Ali, when set, opened the door for an England comeback in
Southampton in the third Test, when India was leading the 2014 Test
series 1-0 after Ishant Sharma's 7-74 and Ajinkya Rahane's
glorious ton at Lord's. He was dropped from the 2018 Test series after
having a great white-ball leg, where he belted tons in a T20I and an
ODI.
Like MS Dhoni, who gave his middling ODI career a lifeline in 2013 by making him open, Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri's
decision to open with Rohit in Tests at home vs South Africa four years
ago triggered a renaissance. In 22 Tests that he has opened across the
two WTC cycles, Rohit has scored 1794 runs at 52.76.
Hence, playing his 50th Test is a milestone even he would have been unsure of reaching, thanks to inconsistent early returns.
Rohit
knows apart from providing a solid start, he also carries the burden of
winning a global event for India, something that fans demand as their
right and something people thought will come by with just a mere change
of guard from Kohli to Rohit, thanks to his success for Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
Source: The Times Of India
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