Special to The Tribune: Former players feel that Rohit still has a lot of cricket left in him

Rohit Sharma's form in the Tests may be a cause for serious concern for the national selectors and coaches, but there is a strong view that there is still some cricket left in the Indian skipper, depending on resolving his physical and technical problems.

Sharma had a terrible run in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, appearing in three of the five Test matches. He scored a total of 31 points, with the highest score being 10, with an average of 6.20. The swords are out, especially with vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah leading India to their only win of the series in the Perth Test in which Sharma did not play.

Both Sharma's captaincy and his batting have drawn criticism, with the former lacking inspiration and the latter woefully out of control. As he left the fifth and final Test match in Sydney, the buzz about his international cricket 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 talking point. Team India coach Gautam Gambhir is yet to comment on the future of not only Sharma but also Virat Kohli, the other controversial 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's 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 promote Indian cricket, but as we all know what they are up to, they will do so keeping in mind the best interest of Indian cricket.”

He added that “Test cricket is 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 saw Sharma for the first time in a Deodhar Trophy match. Ravindra Jadeja was also there in the West Zone side. Sharma played so coolly. I told Parthiv Patel, the West Zone skipper, that Sharma should bat at number 3 .He came into that position and scored 150. He played great shots, so he had the potential to be a big player from the very beginning.

“He is so talented that 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.

Talking about Sharma's technical problems, Sandhu said, “He has been thrown out and has also suffered leg damage before. Suryakumar Yadav had the same problem and I told him that his trigger movement was a problem. The same problem applies to Sharma. He needs work on his trigger movement .He also needs to work on his fitness. There is still a lot of cricket left in Rohit.”

Sandhu added that Sharma should return to domestic cricket to sort out his batting problems.

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh, who was Sharma's teammate in the past, said Sharma cannot be solely blamed for the team's demise.

“In my view, this is not the Rohit Sharma we know. I think the selectors, coaches and players need to sit together and discuss what 2024 was like for everyone. It's not about one particular player, it's about the whole team. standard must be the same.” for all players and not for Sharma alone,” he said.

Singh further emphasized that it is not the player's job to choose which series he wants to play, which is what 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 choose them or not,” Singh said.

Finally, Singh said Sharma needed to go back to basics to sort out his batting problems. “He has to go back to basics. If he doesn't play domestic cricket, he can play county cricket. Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravichandran Ashwin and even myself started playing county cricket to get back among the runs and wickets. As far as pension is concerned, it is completely Sharma's decision,” he said.