The Indian skipper is in one of his worst batting streaks, ending 2024 with an average of 24.76. In 26 innings, Rohit made 619 runs with two hundreds and as many fifties. He started the year with a 400-run series against England but fizzled out in the second half, scoring 164 runs in his next eight Tests.

Rohit made only 42 runs in four innings during the home Test series against Bangladesh and followed it up with a 91-run series in three games against New Zealand. He missed the opening game at Perth due to personal reasons, but his comeback has not yielded desired results. In five innings Down Under, Rohit has made 3, 6, 10, 3 and 9, registering just 31 runs at an average of 6.20.

Just four other batters in the top six have averaged worse in a Test series in Australia, among those who batted a minimum of five innings. Shaun Marsh leads the list, with batting averages of 2.83 against India in 2011/12, followed by Mitchell Marsh, whose current average of 4.33 takes him to second spot. Jimmy Sinclair (5.80), in 1910, and Peter Willey (5.83) in 1979, have fared worse than Rohit.

Rohit's performance is the lowest for any captain in a Test series in Australia among players who have batted in at least five innings, beating John Blackham’s 132-year record. The former Australia skipper had averaged 7.66, making 23 in six innings in the 1892 Ashes. Among captains who have batted in the top six, Rohit’s average is only worse than Dean Elgar’s tour of Australia in 2022. The South Africa batter averaged 9.33, scoring 56 runs in six matches. They are the only two captains to averages below 10 in a bilateral Test series in Australia.

Rohit’s current tour is also the third-worst for any India captain in a two-team Test series, among those who have batted in at least five innings. Bishan Singh Bedi averaged 2.50 with the bat as captain against Pakistan in 1978/79, while Anil Kumble managed an average of 4.83 against Sri Lanka in 2007. However, neither was a specialist batter, making Rohit’s current Australia tour the worst among batters who have also led their team.

What has added to his issues has been his deficiencies with his defence, which has seen him play just 110 balls thus far, or 22 balls per innings. It is a stark contrast to the 2021 England series, when Rohit had batted out 886 balls in eight innings, making 368 runs at an average of 52.57. It was touted to be the new chapter in Rohit’s Test career, that had seen plenty of ups and downs following his debut in 2013.

The fact that Australia’s Scott Boland, who has a first-class batting average of 5.87, has faced more deliveries (119) than Rohit in just three innings is indicative of how torrid the India captain’s tour has been. Overall, it is the sixth-lowest deliveries any top-six batter has faced in a series in Australia since the start of 2000. Among batters who have batted at least five times, only two visiting batters have faced fewer balls in a series - Marlon Samuels (92) in 2015, and KL Rahul (102) in 2018/19.

Rohit’s Test average as a captain has also dipped to 30.58 - he has led the Test team in 24 matches, making 1,254 runs with four hundreds and four fifties. Among captains with at least 1,000 runs, it is the sixth-worst in history, with the list being led by Darren Sammy (22.43). No other India captain has averaged worse as captain. Kapil Dev (batting average of 31.72) and MAK Pataudi (34.14) are the only other skippers to average below 35 with the bat.

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