Sanjay Manjrekar has opened up on India skipper Rohit Sharma’s poor form with the bat ahead of the second Test against Australia in Adelaide. Sanjay Manjrekar mentioned that Rohit Sharma is a backfoot player and plays the ball late, but he did the opposite during six innings against New Zealand. He further hailed Rohit Sharma for working on his front foot in the nets ahead of the day-night Test. Rohit Sharma is most likely not to open for India in Adelaide Test, but it may come at the expense of Shubman Gill.
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has highlighted a major flaw in India captain Rohit Sharma’s technique amid his poor form in Tests. The India skipper hasn’t been in the best of forms as India succumbed to a humiliating 0-3 whitewash at home against New Zealand. Rohit Sharma has been criticized for his aggressive approach in Tests as he’s been getting out playing big shots.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had an awful run in the home Test season
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had their worst-ever run in the recent home Test season against the Bangladesh National Cricket Team and the New Zealand National Cricket Team.
The awful performances from the duo didn’t affect the India National Cricket Team in the series against the Tigers as the hosts easily won 2-0. However, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma not firing led to India’s downfall against the Kiwis.
India faced an embarrassing 0-3 whitewash at the hands of the New Zealand National Cricket Team and hit a new low in the Test series as it was their first-ever 0-3 sweep at home in the history of red-ball cricket.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma didn’t play any Duleep Trophy matches before the matches against Bangladesh and New Zealand, and the unpreparedness of the duo was clearly seen. In two Tests against Bangladesh, Rohit Sharma scored just 42 runs at an average of 10.50 while Virat Kohli scored 99 runs at an average of 33.00.
As the action moved towards the three-match Test series against New Zealand, Rohit Sharma scored 91 runs at an average of 15.16 while Virat Kohli scored 93 runs at an average of 15.50.
Virat Kohli averages over 50 runs per innings in Australia. The former captain, who missed three of the four Tests during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2020-21, has 1352 runs, including six hundreds, in 13 matches. Virat Kohli relishes playing in Australia and the arch-rivalry between the two teams has brought the best out of him in the recent past.
Virat Kohli, as former cricketers pointed out, looked in control on pace-rich pitches in South Africa earlier this year, scoring a fifty in one innings and getting starts in each of his other three innings.
On the other hand, Rohit Sharma will have his task cut out in Australia. The India captain, who missed the opening Test due to paternity leave, averages a little over 30 with three fifties across seven Tests. Rohit Sharma has very little experience (2 matches) of opening the batting in Australia.
Rohit Sharma scored 91 runs in three Test against the Kiwis. In the five red-ball games of the home season, Rohit Sharma amassed 133 runs, including a fifty. The 37-year-old managed 3 runs off 11 balls against the Australian Prime Minister’s XI in the warm-up game.
When Rohit Sharma walked out to bat at No. 4 in India’s pink-ball practice match against Prime Minister’s XI at the Manuka Oval in Canberra, the captain sent a ‘clear indication’ that he won’t open in the 2nd Test against Australia starting Friday at Adelaide, a confident Sanjay Manjrekar said.
Ex-cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar expresses his views on under pressure Rohit Sharma ahead of 2nd Test vs Australia
Former India player Sanjay Manjrekar has opened up on skipper Rohit Sharma’s lean patch with the bat ahead of the second Test in Adelaide on Tuesday, December 3. Sanjay Manjrekar reckoned that Rohit is a backfoot player with the ability to play the ball late but he was doing the exact opposite during the three-match Test series against New Zealand. He further credited Rohit for working on his front foot in the nets ahead of the pink-ball Test.
Notably, Rohit Sharma scored 91 runs in three home Tests against New Zealand. The right-handed batter has managed just 133 runs in his five Tests, including a solitary half-century. The 37-year-old returned with three off 11 deliveries against Australia PM XI in the warmup game in Canberra.
Sanjay Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo:
“The one thing that I saw during the New Zealand series was that he, like Virat Kohli, was only looking to get out on the front foot but not big a step. And when it comes to places like Australia and South Africa, that starts getting you into troubles.”
“So, he’s not a big front-foot stride player but he wasn’t going on the backfoot at all or playing late but I just saw that he was little slipping where he was practicing in the nets and you got the impression that he was telling himself to get the front foot forward if he is going to keep playing forward or just play close to the ball,” he added.
The reaction comes amid ongoing debate on Rohit’s batting slot after KL Rahul grabbed the opportunity with both hands in Perth, scoring 26 and 77 in the two innings.
Manjrekar further warned Rohit Sharma regarding uneven bounce Down Under. The cricketer-turned-commentator advised him to play pull shot with utmost caution. He said:
“I think that is what he needs to do and watch out for that pull shot that has got him in trouble. It’s an instinctive shot that he plays short of a length and it will bounce a little more than the kind of instinct that he has playing a pull shot, having batted mostly in the subcontinent.”
Rohit Sharma has 2,033 runs in Australia across formats. Overall, he has 3571 runs against the Aussies, including nine tons. Rohit Sharma would now be keen to deliver after Virat Kohli returned to form, smashing his first ton after 16 months in the first Test in Perth. India won the match by 295 runs. Like Rohit, Kohli had managed 93 runs in three Tests against New Zealand. The second day night pink ball test will commence on December 6 at Adelaide and Rohit Sharma would be keen and eager to resume captaincy charge in tests.