Special to The Tribune: Former players feel Rohit has ‘lot of cricket’ left in him

Rohit Sharma's form in Tests may be a cause for serious worry for the national selectors and coaches but there is a strong view that there is still some cricket left in the Indian skipper subject to his sorting out his physical and technical issues.

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Sharma had a horrid run in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy wherein he featured in three of the five Test matches. He scored 31 runs in total, with a highest score of 10, at an average of 6.20. The swords are out, especially with vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah leading India to their lone win in the series — in the Perth Test in which Sharma did not feature.

Both Sharma's captaincy and his batting have drawn criticism with the former lacking inspiration and latter being woefully out of sorts. As he sat himself out of the fifth and final Test match in Sydney, the buzz over his international cricketing future grew louder. Is it time for him to call it quits or should the selectors go for a new full-time captain in Bumrah has been the big debating point. Team India coach Gautam Gambhir is unwilling to take a call yet on the future of not just Sharma but also Virat Kohli, the other embattled biggie in the team.

Speaking to the media after the loss in the fifth Test, Gambhir said, "I can't talk about the future of players, it is still up to them but yes they still have the hunger and passion and both Virat and Rohit are tough people. Hopefully, they can continue to take Indian cricket forward but also as we all know whatever they plan they will do so keeping in mind the best interest of Indian cricket."

He further added that "Test cricket is all about improving every day."

Former Mumbai and West Zone coach Balwinder Singh Sandhu said that given Sharma's talent, he should have scored more runs in Test cricket.

"I first saw Sharma in a Deodhar Trophy match. Ravindra Jadeja too was there in the West Zone side. Sharma played so coolly. I told Parthiv Patel, who was the West Zone skipper, that Sharma should bat at No. 3. He came at that position and scored 150. He played amazing shots. So he had the potential to be a big player from the very beginning. He then got into India A," he said.

"He is so talented he should have scored more runs in Test cricket. He was more talented than Virat Kohli but Kohli worked hard on his game and fitness. Kohli was more disciplined," he added.

Speaking about Sharma's technical woes, Sandhu said, "He has been bowled out, has been given leg before too. Suryakumar Yadav had the same problem and I told him his trigger movement was an issue. The same issue is with Sharma. He has to work on his trigger movement. He has to also work on his fitness. There is a lot of cricket left in Rohit."

Sandhu added that Sharma should go back to domestic cricket to sort out his batting woes.

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has been Sharma's teammate in the past, said that Sharma alone cannot be blamed for the team's downfall.

"In my eyes this is not the Rohit Sharma we know. I think that the selectors, coaches and players should sit together and discuss how 2024 was for all. It is not about one particular player but the entire team. The yardstick should be same for all players and not Sharma alone," he said.

Singh further stressed that it is not the player's call to pick and choose which series to play, which Sharma and Kohli have done in the past. "I don't think players should say they are available for a particular series or not, it is the selectors' job to pick or not pick them," said Singh.

Finally, Singh said that Sharma needed to get back to the basics to solve his batting woes. "He needs to get back to basics. If he is not playing domestic cricket he can go and play county cricket. Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravichandran Ashwin and even I myself went and played county cricket to get back among the runs and wickets. As far as retirement is concerned it is entirely Sharma's call," he said.