After a 10-year wait, India’s captain plays just 19 balls in Ranji Trophy match
MUMBAI: Things seem to be getting tougher for Rohit Sharma, as his poor form continues to be a major concern for the Ajit Agarkar-led national selection committee. Rohit has been named captain for India’s ODI series against England and the Champions Trophy next month.
Rohit’s return to the Ranji Trophy after nearly a decade didn’t go well, as he could only last for about half an hour on the crease. Playing against Jammu & Kashmir at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Sharad Pawar Academy in BKC, he scored just 3 runs off 19 balls before getting out on the first morning of the match.
The 37-year-old, who is struggling to regain his form, will now have to wait for the second innings to make an impact. Rohit looked uncomfortable at the crease, with Umar Nazir, J&K’s pacer, troubling him multiple times. Nazir even hit him on the glove once on a lively pitch where the ball was moving around. Eventually, Rohit was dismissed in the sixth over while attempting a pull shot on a slightly short ball pitched outside off-stump. He mistimed the shot, and J&K captain Paras Dogra caught the ball easily at mid-off.
This is the third time this season that Rohit has lost his wicket in a similar fashion. Earlier, New Zealand pacer Matt Henry (at Wankhede in Mumbai) and Australian bowler Pat Cummins (at MCG in Melbourne) had dismissed him in the same way.
To accommodate Rohit and other India players for this match, Mumbai had to drop their in-form opener Ayush Mhatre, who has scored 408 runs in 5 matches with two centuries in his debut Ranji season.
Rohit has been struggling with his batting form for some time now, with a series of poor performances during the home Tests against New Zealand and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
