India skipper Rohit Sharma looked like the best version of himself against England in Cuttack – his scintillating hundred was enough to dispel any lingering doubts over his place in their Champions Trophy starting XI, writes Rahul Iyer.
Dimaag kidhar hai tera? – Where's your brain?
Harshit Rana had just fielded a defensive shot from Jos Buttler, and in his followthrough, hurled it back at the stumps. It was more an attempt at intimidation than wicket-taking, and Rana missed the stumps. The throw gave the keeper no chance, and the ball trickled away to the boundary for four needless runs.
As Rana walked back to his mark, a cheeky, sheepish smile made an appearance on his face, and he glanced towards his captain nervously. Rohit Sharma wasn't best pleased, and it didn't take an expert lip reader to make out what he'd told his bowler.
Of course, that's not far from a question that could be asked of Rohit himself at any point across the last six months – a softer, more compassionate, "Where's your head at?"
Match 2nd ODI, India vs England
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India's top-order ahead of the Champions Trophy is a game of musical chairs. There are four spots, and five candidates. The one out of the team right now, Yashasvi Jaiswal, only played his first ODI last week but has been earmarked as a future great across all three formats.
As things stand, they run the risk of leaving either Jaiswal or Shreyas Iyer, who has been excellent every time he takes the field in ODIs, out of the side. It's a great headache to have, but they'd love to not have one at all.
Patience has been wearing thin with Rohit of late. Compounding his own poor form with the bat are his "it's once in 12 years" comments, and his overseeing of Test series losses to New Zealand and Australia. You wonder if he needs all this at nearly 38 years old, and whether it might just be easier to step away.
Sometimes, solutions look easy...
After all, that would also help resolve the logjam at the top of the ODI order – and India could go full steam ahead with Jaiswal-Gill-Kohli-Iyer. Everyone in their best positions, and even a left-hander in the top four, which Gautam Gambhir seems to love.
It's unrealistic that Rohit's Champions Trophy spot would be in any real danger – even if that is for no other reason than being India's captain. But if he'd had three low scores in the ongoing England series, it would be hard to argue that Jaiswal wouldn't be a better pick – at worst, a ridiculously talented youngster would get some valuable game time.
He had an ugly dismissal in the first ODI – one of those trademark, lazy, flicks just went straight up in the air. It could have been similar today when he charged down the track to Gus Atkinson to nick one down to third for four. The very next ball, he played the same shot that dismissed him in Nagpur. This time, it sailed over midwicket for six, and from then, it was like a switch had been flicked.
It wasn't all smooth sailing, though.
One of the six floodlight towers failed in the seventh over of India's chase of 305, and play was held up. Rohit was on 29 off 18 at the time, and after a few minutes appeared to question whether the umpires and England players were good to continue, if the batters were okay with it.
Whether that was the discussion or not, you could almost hear the expression on Rohit's face when he puffed his cheeks out at the delay – I've FINALLY got a good thing going here, this can't be what does me in now.
....and sometimes, they get harder
To his credit, it didn't. Upon resumption, he picked where he'd left off, but once again had to deal with an interruption when the stadium DJ appeared to leave the music on for 30 seconds too long.
Eventually, and also in double-quick time, he got to a half-century in 30 balls – 40 of his 52 runs coming in boundaries. Maybe more significantly, it looked right, and it felt right. It looked less like Rohit was rediscovering himself, and more like he was rebuilding the version of himself that excelled at the 2023 World Cup. The bat scythed through the air, oozing languidity and venom in equal measure.
Also read: Most ODI sixes, full list: Rohit Sharma overtakes Gayle in second place
The scoring rate, naturally, dipped after the powerplay, but Rohit made sure to stay abreast of the required run rate – having scored at 10 an over for his first 30 balls, that ensured India stayed ahead of the game. He was particularly severe when England's seamers erred on the fuller side (34 runs off 12 balls) and when the spinners erred on the shorter side (14 off 7).
The hundred came off 76 balls, after spending eight deliveries in the nineties. Rohit swatted Adil Rashid over long off to get there, and the celebrations were muted. There was a significant feeling of relief, and a grimace more than a smile as he exchanged a hug with batting partner Shreyas Iyer.
After all, it can be awkward when it feels like the team's captain is playing for his spot in the side.
What exactly ails him with the bat in red-ball cricket is tough to get a handle on. It may just be as simple and banal as tougher batting conditions and less favourable rules (fielding restrictions and the like). When he can look like this in a white-ball game after all the struggles he's had there, it does feel like he's more than capable of sticking around a bit in the shorter format.
He stepped away from T20 internationals after a trophy under his belt as captain. For all we know, he might have been planning the same for ODIs in 2023, and might still be planning to do so for the Champions Trophy.
Yashasvi Jaiswal will have to wait, at least for a month or so. Rohit isn't done just quite yet.
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