Rohit Sharma – Filling the void left by Sachin Tendulkar

Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma, by virtue of his recent performances, has emerged as the latest batting sensation. Sri Lankan selector and cricket legend Sanath Jayasuriya has praised the strong batting line up of India, saying that they are capable of chasing any given target in ODIs. He further said that Rohit Sharma lays a strong foundation for Indian batting.

A friend of mine who is an ardent supporter of Rohit Sharma has labeled him as an “innings shaper”. Well, I personally feel that Rohit Sharma’s transformation from a laid back player to an aggressive, trustworthy and dependable batsman is perhaps the best transformation of any Indian player in the recent times.

Many of his followers believe that the moment he was given the responsibility to lead Mumbai Indians in the IPL this year, his hidden talent cropped up instantly. With his self esteem and confidence boosted, not only did he start batting in the most responsible manner, but also displayed his inbuilt skills of a future leader. This ultimately led Mumbai Indians on the path of grabbing their first ever IPL title.

Highlighting Rohit Sharma’s abilities, Jayasuriya said that the decision of asking Rohit to open the innings was a perfect one. Jayasuriya opined that Rohit has left a deep impact while batting as an opener. Everyone knew that he was a very good cricketer, but somehow he was not able to give his best. He had a bad phase and was left out of the team. Later, when he was given a chance to open, it proved to be a correct decision. Rohit struck like lightening and is now slowly moving on a path of becoming mister dependable.

Few of the fanatic followers of the game even see his potential as good as the one which was possessed by Sachin Tendulkar. Sometimes Rohit plays a few misjudged shots and has got out prematurely. In case he is able to control his temptation and become a little more concentrated and focused, there will be no looking back in South Africa. The best part is that he has developed excellent foot work. Many of his admirers are pleased to note the way he has handled the short deliveries and made good use of them. Even while defending, he was seen adopting a copy book technique.

These are the signals that the cycle of batting maturity is complete. He carries a rock solid attitude nowadays too.

Recently, Dwayne Bravo, the West Indian skipper, had also said that he wants his team mates Darren Bravo, Kieran Powell and Johnson Charles to learn from the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. He was particularly referring to the appetite for runs Rohit Sharma has got. Such an appreciation surely encourages one to do better.

His body balance is so perfect that when he plays his strokes. It takes a lot of skill to score a brilliant 187 on one’s test debut.

Perhaps, until now he himself was not fully aware of his potential. The best part is that despite becoming a new shining star, he has adopted a down to earth approach and is genuinely enjoying his success.

Recently, Sunil Gavaskar, while commenting on Rohit Sharma, had pointed out that off late, Rohit has been more calculative as to how to treat any delivery. This surely reduces the risk and keeps in guarding his wicket.

However, the upcoming tour of South Africa will provide a real good opportunity to Rohit Sharma to further establish himself firmly.

Well, a whopping average of 288 runs in Tests and pretty good 36.47 in ODIs is really something. Do I need to say more? An ever shining star has been born again for Team India!