"Rohit Sharma is a man finally in control of himself" - India batting coach Rathour backs opener to make it big in Tests
Vikram Rathour has backed Rohit Sharma to continue his promising return to Test cricket. The Team India batting coach feels the star opener now has a clear plan of action when it comes to red-ball cricket.
Rohit Sharma has been the top run-getter for India ever since he started opening in red-ball cricket in October 2019. He is the only batsman to have gone past 1,000 runs during the period.
For Rohit Sharma, red-ball success came after several attempts in the format. Vikram Rathour explained what the India white-ball vice-captain is doing right in an interview with The Times of India.
“Rohit Sharma is a man finally in control of himself, his thoughts, what he wants to achieve and where he wants to head from here. Rohit always had the game and the talent to be successful even in Test cricket. What has happened lately though is he has sorted out his game-plan in this format. Look at the way he began approaching his Red ball cricket, since he has turned an opener, from 2020 onwards,” Rathour claimed.
Rohit Sharma has been one of the most prolific run-scorers in white-ball cricket for a while now, and he seems to have carried that form into red-ball games as well. Vikram Rathour credited the swashbuckling opener's changed approach towards building his innings as the reason behind his success.
“He always had a terrific game plan and method that made him such a prolific run-getter in shorter formats. But he may not have been so certain about how he intended to approach the red-ball format. But you see Rohit in Test whites today and you know this man has a very sorted game-plan. He consciously began working on it. Now he is much more relaxed and disciplined at the start of his innings in Test cricket, he likes to take his time to settle down and once he has, we know what he's capable of,” Rathour mentioned.
Rathour insists Rohit Sharma’s best in Tests yet to come
Rohit Sharma has notched up four tons as an opener in Test cricket and has gone past 150 on three out of the four occasions. His propensity to score daddy hundreds has been a hallmark of his game irrespective of the format, and Vikram Rathour claims fans are yet to see the best of 'Hitman' in Test cricket.
"If you look at his First-Class records, he's always been the one to get those big hundreds. Even in ODIs and T20 cricket, it's never been a case of 105, 110, 115. Once he gets there, he keeps going. In the past few months, he's shown what he's capable of in Test cricket too. Yes, I'll agree with that (on whether fans are yet to see Rohit’s best in Tests). In Test cricket, he's just starting. If he keeps going like this, we'll be seeing a different Rohit in Test cricket. His best is still to come,” Rathour concluded.
Rohit Sharma will arguably face his biggest test yet when he opens for India in the World Test Championship Final later this year. A memorable innings from the 34-year-old in the tough English conditions against one of the best bowling attacks in the world would be the perfect way to state his intentions in Test cricket.