Former Indian batter Sanjay Bangar thinks Rohit Sharma could extend his Test career if he maintains his hunger to score runs. He cited the examples of other veterans Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, who have shown their appetite to produce a big knock in domestic cricket.
Bangar’s comments come after Rohit is going through a lean patch in the red-ball format. ‘Hitman’ could score only 619 runs in 26 innings at an average of 24.76 in 2019. However, in particular, the recent months have seen his major downfall in terms of runs.
The Indian captain returned with 91 runs in six innings against New Zealand, while scoring only 31 runs in five innings against Australia. His disastrous form resulted in the national team losing both the series and also failing to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) Final. Surprisingly, he stood down from the final Test against Australia in Sydney due to his poor form.
Sanjay Bangar feels Rohit Sharma must be under pressure to drop himself from the final test due to better performance from the youngsters. According to the 52-year-old, as Rohit has expressed his desire to continue playing Test cricket, he needs to grind hard in domestic cricket to show his “hunger” and dedication for red-ball cricket.
In an interaction on Star Sports, Bangar said:
””There’s been a lot of talk about playing domestic cricket. Players like Pujara and Rahane, who are on par with Rohit Sharma in stature, have been dropped in the past but have shown their hunger by playing in domestic cricket. Even today, they are sweating it out on domestic grounds, which is a big drop from the intensity of international cricket. Rohit has expressed his desire to continue playing for India and has said,” I am not going anywhere; I still want to play.’ If he follows through and performs in domestic cricket, no one can stop him. But that form and hunger must be evident.”
Yuvraj Singh hails Rohit Sharma’s leadership
Despite the Indian team losing the home series against New Zealand and Australia, Rohit Sharma holds a credible record in the white-ball format. He successfully led the Men in Blue to the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup glory.
The same thoughts were echoed by former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, who termed Rohit as a “great captain”. In an interview with PTI, he said:
“I think he is a great captain. Win or lose, he will always be a great captain. And in his captaincy, we have played the (ODI) World Cup final. We won a T20 World Cup. We have achieved a lot.”
FAQs
How did Rohit Sharma fare in T20Is in 2024?
378 runs in 11 innings
When did Rohit Sharma score his last test ton?
March 2024 vs England
