As the Indian cricket team approaches the World Test Championship final against Australia, there are concerns about the form of captain Rohit Sharma. The “Hitman” had a lackluster season for Mumbai Indians in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL), leading to doubts about his performance in the title showdown against Australia. However, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Rohit’s IPL form should not be a cause for worry as India prepares for the Test challenge.
Despite Mumbai Indians qualifying for the IPL playoffs, Rohit struggled to make significant contributions with the bat. Despite only scoring 332 runs at an average of 20.75 and a strike-rate of 132.80 in 16 matches, Manjrekar is not concerned about his IPL performance. He believes that his previous IPL form was also lacking and prefers to focus on his outstanding batting in the first Test match against Australia. “Given the stage of his career, Test cricket seems to be the most captivating format for Rohit Sharma, just like it has always been for Virat Kohli,” Manjrekar expressed on Star Sports.
Delving into the technical aspects of Rohit’s batting, Manjrekar described his performance in the longest format of the game as nearly flawless.
“In Test cricket, his batting has become almost flawless at the moment. There is just one issue we have observed in Test matches – he occasionally gets out while attempting the pull shot. Bowlers have exploited this by delivering a short ball and setting a fielder in that region. It’s an instinctive shot. In ODI cricket, his pull shot is quite intriguing. His backlift doesn’t come from the top, allowing him to play the ball down. He has a very low backlift, simply picking up the ball and allowing the bat to swing behind his back during the follow-through, generating power,” Manjrekar explained.
