Back to where it all began, Rohit underlines value of day cricket
MUMBAI: Among the several highs that Rohit Sharma has had in 2019, crossing the 1,400-run mark in one-day cricket in a calendar year sits at the top. No Indian had scored more than 1,400 ODI runs in a single year since Sourav Ganguly in 2000, and Rohit accomplished the feat with seven centuries—a record five coming at the World Cup in England.
Sharma, who also resurrected his Test career with three hundreds this year -- finding his calling as an opener -- remains a strong advocate of not curbing aggressive instincts in young cricketers as long as they are ‘productive’.
Sharma has been rested from India’s next assignment—a three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka—and the Indian vicecaptain paid a visit to his cricket academy, Crickingdom at Islam Gymkhana i n Mumbai, on Thursday. There, he told the media present that running a cricket academy was always his wish, to help the young with facilities and coaches, and also provided specific insights into coaching which are based on his style of batting—aggressiveness blended with productivity.
“As a young kid growing in this generation, you want to play shots, you want to look good and all that, but again, it is very important what they think of their game and understanding they have about the game. There is nothing harmful in playing big shots,” said Sharma. “Growing up, whenever we used to play a shot in the air, we were taken out of the nets—which I thought was not right—because eventually you want the results. And what if the guy is giving you results by playing the big shots?”
He answered his own question by adding: “There is nothing wrong in that. I would encourage them to play shots if they want to—but at the same time they need to understand that they need to be productive, produce results. You score 100 runs even off 50 balls, it is still a hundred.
Whether you score a hundred off 200 balls, it doesn’t matter—at the end of the day you want results.”
Sharma believes that the key to nurturing young talent lies in not restricting the player. “If the guy is confident in his skills, I would back that skill, back that guy to do whatever he wants. There should not be any restriction on how these young players want to bat. They should be allowed to bat freely, and that is how they will produce results. What we need to take care of, is that if he is making mistakes again and again, that needs to be rectified,” he said.
Speaking of young talent, Sharma backed the South Africa-bound India U-19 to put on a show worthy of defending World Cup champions. “Our team looks very strong, as always,” he said. “We won the last time. I am not going to say that we are going to win this year as well, but I am pretty sure about one thing— they are going to play really hard. They have got great coaching staff... I hope they bring the Cup back home.”
Coming back to the young Mumbai cricketers, the fourtime IPL winning captain also laid emphasis on the robust cricket set-up in the city. “It is very important that they realise the importance of day’s cricket. That’s the real form of cricket— red-ball cricket. They need to focus on playing Kanga League, or playing for whatever club they are in. Then there is the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai— which is the ultimate for any kid growing in Mumbai. We all have done that. We all know the importance of playing Ranji Trophy, c l ub c r i c ket, maidan cricket. Nothing comes very easy when you are playing club cricket. These things will teach them a lot when they play at the highest level.”
So what helps a young firstclass cricketer make the jump to international cricket, as he did as a 20-year old?
“The first thing that comes to my mind is that be true to the game. At this age, it is hard to understand those things, but as one of the members who have gone through the ranks, I keep telling them to be true to yourself, be true to the game,” he said. “There are no shortcuts. If you try and skip your practice or gym or training sessions, it is not going to do any good.”
“Playing for Mumbai in Ranji Trophy has to be the ultimate goal (for an upcoming cricketer). We have seen the U-19 cricket, so many players have come up through the ranks. They have a future in front of them, it is about how disciplined they are in whatever they are doing. What sort of information they get from people like us is also important,” he added.