“Yaar … field-setting toh dekh le.” That Rohit Sharma cry of frustration from one of the IPL games that summed up the season where he did his best to get the most out of an inexperienced bowling attack.
Watching Rohit marshal Mumbai Indians from mid-wicket should have been a ticketed event. Jio Cinema’s Bird Eye camera, which prowled the arena like a drone, captured him baring his soul more than ever in the past.
Saddled with a weak bowling unit that seemed bereft of experience and skill, Rohit was severely stretched.
He tried to dig deep to infuse some ideas; at times sighed and sunk his head to his knees. Often he would turn away from the bowler, peer into the distance and scratch his ever-present 7-day stubble.
But Rohit never gave up, he would shrug himself out of that worry-reverie and walk to the bowler with an advice and suggestion. It made for riveting TV. It also opened a portal into what was probably one of his toughest captaincy stints, especially when combined with his poor batting outings.
As he leads India’s campaign in the World Test Championship, and beyond that in the ODI World Cup, he is on to extremely vital days of his captaincy. Things are rather delicately placed. A bad WTC final could tilt the cart against him and escalate the pressure stakes on the ODI World Cup.
For nothing is what it seems in the Indian cricket world, a cliche that stays forever fresh, and as tough it might be for some to imagine that he is under pressure as a captain, the truth is that he is.
And more than him, Rahul Dravid as the coach is probably in hot waters already. Rohit’s fortunes are understandably, even if harshly, tied with Dravid’s yoke. If they lose the plot in the coming months, whispers would get louder against one, probably both. As the team management, Rohit and Dravid will be seen as a unit; or will the powers take a side?
Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma after winning the IPL 2023 cricket match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Mumbai won by 8 wickets.
When he took over as India captain with Dravid as coach, it was expected he would do what he has done with Mumbai Indians: get the team selections spot on, inject confidence in youngsters, erase insecurity among new players and more so, in the old like Rahane and Pujara, have a vision about playing style.