Rohit Sharma - The times they are a changin’?

Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma could well be caught grooving to this Bob Dylan number in the dressing room. The song is emblematic of the transition engulfing Team India, emblematic of the old warhorses giving way to prancing young colts, emblematic of the assurance that romances Team India these days and emblematic of a certain Rohit Sharma, shedding slough and radiating quiet confidence in his new perch at the top of the order.

His all too friendly gait, a casual aura reminiscent of a hip-hop dancer loosening up , disdain smeared all over his face are things we are all too familiar with. What we were NOT familiar with is this man in control of what he was doing. That mountain of a man Mohammad Irfan comes in and fires a 145 kph delivery only to see it scurry to the fence with the most minimalistic of efforts.

This Nagpur-born lad is murdering bowlers these days with the finesse of a canvas painter. Each time the boundary is breached by that woodwork of his, his face seems to be up in apology to the bowler almost as if to say “Look I am sorry to do this but this is my job“.

With 98 ODIs and 2459 runs behind him, and the scores of his past 10 innings no longer resembling a mobile number, Sharma looks set to score five times as much and in probably double quick time. It is indeed his best phase in international cricket as he admitted the other day. Four half-centuries and sizeable scores otherwise in the last 10 innings have seen him make mincemeat of critics, of which he had plenty.

Much has happened in these past 10 matches, with India pocketing the Champions Trophy and then orchestrating a come-from-behind win in the Celkon Cup final. Along the way, we found out how prolific Shikhar Dhawan can be if trusted with, why Kohli is best when he wears his heart on his sleeve, why Dhoni could arguably be the best finisher ever, and of course how Sharma’s batting is so easy on the eye.

For a man who debuted six years ago and touted as the next big thing, a look back on his career wouldn’t leave anyone impressed. But from what we have seen in the recent past, he seems determined to shed the old failings of flattering to deceive. The alien role of opening the innings he was entrusted with, has got the best out of him.

No hit-and-miss stories do the rounds any more. He is playing with the same lazy-looking mannerisms which are actually symbolic of that extra fraction of a second he gets to play his shots. He has put the faster bowlers to the sword too with decisive horizontal bat-strokes coupling it with languid drives all around the park. Supple wrist work has been the key to his clear minded batsmanship.

Watching him play these days reminds one of the maiden 40-ball 50, he racked up against a potent South African attack and with India down at 61-4 when he walked in. With the same, almost irritating laid back style, he picked out gaps with pin-point precision and laced it with some ballooning hits to race to his fifty. With Dhoni, he stitched together an 85-run fifth wicket partnership to wriggle out of the woods and India cantered to the semifinals of the 2007 T20 World Cup.

The rest is proverbially history , as they say. A 16-ball 30 in the finals of that very tournament placed him on a pedestal straight away. The CB series that followed saw him play some crucial knocks and he looked set to cement his place in the side. Form deserted him soon enough, as he fell out of favour with the selectors even as he was given an extended run. He has been a passenger to the Indian team since then innumerable entries and exits. Only recently with a consistent showing as an opener of the ODI side has he somewhat settled down.

He was lauded for his efforts in leading Mumbai Indians to their first IPL title this year and more so for his efficient handling of accomplished names in international cricket. One can sniff resolve in his steps these days even as his fielding borders on the fantastic and the electric.

Sharma will now know that he has gotten himself into a position to gun for glory, with the soul-testing South Africa sojourn on the cards. India would be well-served to go with this man riding high on success but more importantly, a man playing fast bowlers with unmistakable ease. He has quietly and almost unnoticed built up on confidence, courtesy the recent good run. He would also be itching to make that hitherto elusive test debut and convert the fifties into big hundreds, yet more importantly into match winning endeavours.