Sweat over Sharma’s form for World Cup to end India’s drought
FORMER Australia cricketer Michael Clarke shared his thoughts on Rohit Sharma’s form in the IPL 2024 and opined that it was only a matter of one inning for him to find his form again.
Sharma started well in this season of IPL and scored 297 in his first seven innings, however, he only managed to score 34 in his next five innings – overall in 12 innings he scored 330 runs with a mere average of 30.
The only consolation inning that came from the Indian skipper’s bat was a century against Chennai Super Kings (105 off 63 balls), that too was in a losing cause. It was his second century in the history of IPL that came after more than 12 years.
“With someone like Rohit, it’s only a matter of time before he finds his form again. How many times do you see that exact ball go for six though? It happened to Sky (Suryakumar Yadav). The exact ball, same shot, except these went for six, Rohit gets out. Rohit, being the wise judge of his own performances, will undoubtedly be disappointed, especially considering his strong start,” said Clarke.
However, Clarke also believed that it might be fatigue for Rohit and advocated for him to have a break.
“In my view, he might be feeling a bit fatigued as well. A break to freshen up could do wonders for him, but as the Indian captain and a key player for Mumbai Indians, you’re not getting a break. So he’s going to have to find form. He doesn’t seem to be struggling with his timing; it’s just a matter of getting out.”
Clarke also backed Sharma for the T20 World Cup, leading the Indian side and asked him to focus on his game rather than the result.
“Hopefully, he stresses less and focuses on his game because he’s too talented to keep missing out. He’s at his best when he’s timing the ball, rather than trying to force it. He’s a great player, and I have no doubt he’ll bounce back soon. Let’s just hope it’s not at the World Cup again (said jokingly),” Clarke concluded.
The ICC men’s T2O World Cup ambassador and former India star allrounder Yuvraj Singh has also backed Sharma to end India’s ICC trophy drought, which stretches back to the 2011 Men’s Cricket World Cup at the showpiece commencing on June 1.
After multiple failures in the major ICC tournaments, such as heartbreaking losses in the semifinal of the ICC men’s T20 World Cup in 2022, the finals of the World Test Championship in 2023 and the World Cup in 2023, the focus now shifts to the 2024 T20 World Cup to showcase the potential on the global stage.
After spending time with Rohit and seeing his incredible exploits, Yuvraj has a first-hand understanding of the commitment, talent, and fortitude that have elevated the devastating hitter to the top of Indian cricket.
“(Rohit’s presence is going to be) very crucial. I think we need a really good captain, a sensible captain who takes decisions well under pressure. And he’s the one to take them. He was the captain when we lost in the (World Cup) 50-over final (in 2023). He has won five IPL trophies as a captain. I think we need somebody like him to captain India,” Yuvraj told the ICC.