"The team is more important than his form" - Harbhajan Singh on Rohit Sharma's lean run continuing in BGT 2024-25 2nd Test
Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh has acknowledged that Rohit Sharma's prolonged lean run is a concern. However, he opined that the Indian skipper needs to forget his twin failures in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 and look to improve his and, more importantly, the team's performances in the remaining three games.
Australia completed an emphatic 10-wicket win in the second Test in Adelaide on Sunday, December 8, to draw level in the five-match series. India failed to reach the 200-run mark in either innings, with Rohit aggregating just nine runs across his two hits.
During a discussion on Star Sports, Harbhajan was asked whether Rohit's consistent recent failures are a cause for concern.
"When such a big player doesn't score runs, it will become a slight cause for concern. We know that Rohit has great ability and has scored a lot of runs for India. However, he didn't score runs in this match and the previous series as well. When the runs are not scored, the pressure comes on the batter," he replied.
"We won't want the Indian captain to have the pressure of scoring his own runs, as it could affect his captaincy as well. We hope that he comes back to form. The conditions at other venues like Brisbane might suit him more. He needs to leave this match behind and think about what better can be done going forward and how the team can play better because the team is more important than his form," the former India spinner added.
Rohit Sharma has scored 597 runs at an underwhelming average of 27.13 in 23 Test innings this year. He has struggled even more in his last 12 Test innings, aggregating 142 runs at a paltry average of 11.83.
"I am slightly concerned with the way Rohit Sharma is getting out" - Cheteshwar Pujara
![Rohit Sharma was castled by Pat Cummins in India's second innings in Adelaide. [P/C: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/12/d26b6-17336503900200-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same discussion, Cheteshwar Pujara expressed concern about Rohit Sharma's modes of dismissals.
"There is a slight concern. As an Indian fan, I want Rohit to regain his form as quickly as possible. As Bhajju pa (Harbhajan) said, the captain's batting is very important because it affects his captaincy as well. I am slightly concerned with the way Rohit Sharma is getting out," he said.
The veteran India batter added that Rohit has been found wanting against both incoming and away-going deliveries from the same spot.
"He got out lbw in the first innings, and he opened up his stance in the second innings, so he got bowled there. He will have to work a little more on that line because, from the same spot, he is getting lbw to the ball that is coming in and bowled to the ball that is going away," Pujara observed.
Pujara opined that Rohit would be under pressure as he hasn't performed well in Tests in 2024. He acknowledged that the Mumbaikar would know that he needs to work on that area of his game, but added that the issue needs to be resolved quickly as the turnaround time before the third Test is very short.