Rohit Sharma – a waste of talent?

COLOMBO, SRI LANKA – OCTOBER 02: Robin Peterson (2R) of South Africa celebrates the wicket of Rohit Sharma of India with teammate AB De Villiers during the ICC World Twenty20 2012 Super Eights Group 2 match between South Africa and India at R. Premadasa Stadium on October 2, 2012 in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Every time Rohit Sharma walks out into the middle to bat, the crowd and commentators anticipate a solid performance from the Indian batsman. But, more often or not he has been disappointing with his performances, which can be termed a waste of talent. Rohit Sharma has been oozing talent ever since he made his debut for India, but he has not done any justice to his potential. When will he deliver? Will he ever deliver?

There is no doubt about the quality of the player, but he needs to score consistently in whatever format he plays in. Flashes of brilliance will not grant him the special status that has been achieved by Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman etc. Apart from Tendulkar, who was born with a cricket bat in his hand, none of the aforementioned players had been blessed with the talent that Rohit Sharma possessed at such an early age. He belonged to a league of his own. Ganguly, Dravid and Laxman worked hard with determination to be called one of the greatest Indian batsmen. They might not have been as talented as Rohit, but the willpower they had seems absent from his modus operandi.

It has been five years since the batsman from Mumbai made his international debut, and he still has not been able to cement his place in any format of the game, T20 aside. Unsurprisingly for the player, it is embarrassing to not establish himself as a regular part of the Indian team. He has played 85 ODI’s for India, scoring only 1974 runs at an average of 30 runs, which is not justified. He has been given a number of chances to prove his worth at the highest level, as the selectors are aware of Rohit’s talent.

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 14: Rohit Sharma (R) of India is run-out during the One Day International match between India and Sri Lanka at Adelaide Oval on February 14, 2012 in Adelaide, Australia.

But for how long will the selectors have faith in him when there are others knocking on the Indian team door. With his talent, he should walk into any Test team, but he has not done so, as his record in the 50-over format does not impress the selectors to promote him to Test level.

He should learn a thing or two about grabbing opportunities with both hands from Virat Kohli, who may not be as talented as Rohit, but he has not looked back since he was given the chance to play for India. He made his debut one year after Sharma, and look at where both these players stand presently. Rohit is still known as a talented batsmen, but Virat is being referred as one of the best batsmen of the modern era. Kohli reached this level with tremendous amounts of hard work and determination, without which he would also had been another Rohit Sharma, who is in the Indian team just for his talent.

Rohit may all the shots in his armoury, but the way he goes about his batting leaves much to be desired. He gives his wickets too easily and plays rash shots to make it easier for the bowler to dismiss him. He is also taking his talent for granted . He should not wait for the day he realises his strongest point – his talent – is also his weak point.

Because it might then be too late.