Indian captain Rohit Sharma’s relationship with star fast bowler Mohammed Shami is under scrutiny at a crucial time in the Border-Gavaskar Test series, with claims the pair had a “heated exchange”.
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Rohit fielded fresh questions about Shami’s availability after a heavy loss in the second Test at Adelaide, which squared the series at 1-1. The feisty paceman has been touted as a significant upgrade for an inexperienced Indian attack.
Yet The Hindustan Times relayed a story from Hindi newspaper Dainik Jagran, claiming tension with Rohit and asking if it would affect Shami’s prospects.
“As things stand, a report in the Dainik Jagran states that not all is well between Rohit and Shami,” the Hindustan Times report said.
“This dates back to last month, when India were in the middle of a Test series against New Zealand. Ahead of the opener in Bengaluru, Rohit revealed that, unlike the belief that Shami is fully fit, there’s swelling in his knee. Before this, Shami had retaliated to media reports that he had picked up a new injury, calling it fake and reiterating that he was fit and raring to go. This was just the tip of the iceberg, though. The report claims Rohit and Shami met after New Zealand beat India in the first Test, but had a conversation that was anything but smooth.
“‘When Shami was at NCA, he met Rohit during the 1st Test in Bengaluru. During their meeting, the two had a heated exchange over the captain’s remark on Shami when asked about his current status and availability for the New Zealand and Australia Test series,’ Jagran quoted a source as saying.
“Rohit had said this on the eve of the 1st Test in Bengaluru: ‘Right now, it is pretty difficult for us to make a call on whether he will be fit for this series or the Australia series. He recently had a setback – he had a swelling on his knee, which was quite unusual. He was in the process of getting fit – getting close to 100% – and he had a swelling in his knee. That put him back a little bit in his recovery, so he had to start again fresh.’
“The question is clear: Does Rohit not want Shami in India’s Test set-up? Why else is there still no clarity over his joining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy?”
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A Press Trust of India report, carried in the Deccan Herald, said that Shami was in good limited-overs form back home, “with no clarity over his international comeback”. The report also mentioned the knee issue.
“Showing no signs of rust, Mohammed Shami carried Bengal to the quarterfinals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy by smashing a game-changing 17-ball-32 and bowling 13 dot balls in his four overs that paved way for his team’s thrilling three-run win against Chandigarh.
“He looks pretty much on course even though it is a four-over format but in a Test match as a premier bowling partner of Jasprit Bumrah, he would be expected to bowl at least three if not four spells of 20 overs in a day on an average. He would also need to field 100 overs.
“It is believed that national selectors are willing to pick him as and when he is deemed fit but there is a discussion in the BCCI corridors that the veteran speedster himself has told the NCA medical team that ‘he is still not Test match ready’. He has been telling his assessors that he has no problems while bowling but feels a bit of swelling in his knee after matches, something that Test skipper Rohit Sharma also mentioned in his media interaction after losing the Adelaide Test.”
Rohit, meanwhile, is copping it from all angles after leading a 10-wicket defeat in Adelaide. Speaking on his YouTube channel, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra criticised his captaincy and in particular, his bowling plans against Australian centurion Travis Head.
“Did we bowl bouncers to Head? You have to bowl bouncers on Head’s head. Until we do that. he doesn’t get out and keeps troubling us. He has done that earlier and is doing it now also. He did that in the World Cup final and the WTC final as well,” he said.
“Jasprit Bumrah had bowled a four-over spell and had already picked up a wicket in that. So why did he bowl only four overs, and didn’t bowl after that at all? He didn’t bowl in the entire session. So you are 100 per cent right when you say that you missed a trick in captaincy. Rohit’s captaincy – let’s call a spade a spade. We saw defensive captaincy. He allowed the match to drift.
“I have brought another list as well – the most consecutive losses by an Indian captain. Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi lost six consecutive matches in 1967. After that, Sachin Tendulkar in 1999, and if you come to the 21st century, MS Dhoni twice lost four consecutive matches, Virat Kohli lost four consecutive matches in 2020-21, and now Rohit Sharma has already lost four consecutive matches.
“He wasn’t the captain in the Perth match. So that win doesn’t count for him. If we leave the last century, it’s Dhoni, Kohli and Rohit, and the biggest concerning thing, which might not be with anyone else, is three consecutive losses at home. The captaincy has been a little lacklustre.”
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Iconic Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar said that Rohit looked underprepared for his return Test, after missing the series opener in Perth.
“I think the feet aren’t moving as they should. He needs to do a little bit of exercise before coming to the crease and try to get some circulation going in the legs,” Gavaskar said, per the Deccan Chronicle.
“When he comes in to bat, maybe run in a little bit, so that the circulation is there. Do some jogging before you take the first ball.”
Gavaskar also called on Rohit to open the batting, after dropping to No.6 in Adelaide due to the form of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
“He should return to his regular spot. We should remember why Rahul had opened. He did that because Rohit Sharma was not available for the first Test. I can understand why they kept him as an opener in the second Test, he had a 200-plus partnership with Jaiswal.” Gavaskar said on ‘Sports Talk’.
“But now that he couldn’t score this Test, I feel Rahul should go back to No. 5 or No.6 and Rohit Sharma should open. If Rohit scores quickly in the beginning, then he can score a big century also later,” he added.
Fellow Indian great Ravi Shastri agreed, saying he looked subdued in the second Test.
“That’s the reason I want him at the top. That’s where he can be aggressive and expressive. Just thought he was a little too subdued, just seeing his body language,” Shastri told ‘Star Sports’.
“The fact that he didn’t make runs, I don’t think there was enough on the field there. I just wanted to see him more involved, and a little more animated.”
Yet of course, there was a strong counter-view.
“Rohit Sharma is already short of confidence and runs. Experts urging him to open at the Gabba is foolhardy, to say the least. The series is not being played in the sub-continent where he can throw his bat and get some runs. It will be a lamb to the slaughterhouse if he opens,” former India player Dodda Ganesh posted on X.
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With the series in the balance, there is disquiet about India’s batting in general. Writing in The New Indian Express, Gomesh S said that lessons were being learned slowly.
“‘We were not good enough with the bat.’ That was India captain Rohit Sharma on Sunday afternoon attempting to sum up their ten-wicket loss against Australia in the pink ball Test at Adelaide,” Gomesh wrote.
“At this point, it is a phrase Rohit had to repeat after every Test he has captained since October 16. It all began on that gloomy Bengaluru day where he chose to face the media after India crumbled for 46 runs in the first innings against New Zealand. From day two evening till day three at the Adelaide Oval, there hasn’t been a day where Rohit has walked back off the field at stumps knowing that they had a good day at work.
“From admitting that he was wrong in Bengaluru, to acknowledging that they were not good enough in Adelaide, Rohit had accepted the defeat on the face of it in a very pragmatic, matter-of-fact manner. While it looked good to hear the captain own his mistakes in Bengaluru, hearing very similar things after every match since has led to a perception of whether he and the team are not learning from the things that they did wrong.”
One significant voice came out in support of Rohit: World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev.
“He doesn’t have to prove himself. He has done this for many, many years, so let’s not doubt somebody. I won’t doubt him. I hope his form comes back, that’s important,” Kapil said during the launch of the Vishwa Samudra Open, a PGTI event set to begin at the Delhi Golf Club on Tuesday.
“With one or two performances, if you doubt someone’s captaincy, I mean, just six months back when he won the T20 World Cup, you wouldn’t have asked me this question. Let it go, knowing his ability and talent, he will come back. They will come back strongly.”
