Rohit Sharma's bold new batting template has changed his ODI game – and India's
India’s captain and think tank made a strategic decision to go harder earlier and it has been paying off for them
Sidharth Monga
17-Oct-2023
In India’s first three matches in this World Cup, Rohit Sharma has struck at 141.83, despite a duck in the first game • Getty Images
Nobody mourns the reduction in the amount of ODI cricket between the last World Cup and this one. You can’t blame them. Still, it is a shame that because so little 50-over cricket is played, and even less by the best players, we might sometimes fail to notice transformative pieces of work. Rohit Sharma’s transformation since he became the full-time India ODI captain might just be one of those.
In a World Cup, though, everyone notices. After the duck in the first match in difficult conditions against Australia, Rohit has practically ended two matches inside the first powerplay. He scored 76 off 43 in the first ten overs against Afghanistan, and 45 off 30 against Pakistan. As with everything he does, this was not random. Not a case of feeling good about it on the day and swinging for the hills.
He has been batting with elevated intent in ODIs for a while now. Since the start of 2022, which is when he assumed the captaincy, 35 batters have scored 300 or more runs within the first powerplay in ODIs. Only two have gone quicker than Rohit’s strike rate of 111. Neither of these two – Travis Head and Phil Salt – has scored nearly as many runs as Rohit, nor is either of them in a leadership role.
Related
-
Can Rohit Sharma the India T20I batter turn up for Mumbai Indians please?
-
Rohit Sharma wants India to be more positive in tricky chases
-
How Rohit Sharma is leading an Indian revolution in T20 cricket
-
New-age Rohit tears up old ODI template
Revolutions in cricket are generally planned by captains but enacted by youngsters. The captain – usually a batter – rarely takes on a risky job. In the history of the sport, only two captains have gone delightfully bonkers for a considerable period of time: Brendon McCullum in 2015 and Chris Gayle in 2009.
McCullum scored at 163 in the first ten overs through 2015, and Gayle at 117 in 2009. That, though, is their nature. Rohit’s method has been different. The turnaround in his career centred on his becoming obsessed with not getting out in the first 20 balls, and then gradually accelerating before exploding towards the end. He has changed the whole philosophy of his batting. Not only has he changed it, more incredibly, he encountered failure when he started making the change but still kept at it.
It all began with T20Is, where India’s approach with the bat was not quite contemporary when he took over. Possibly the new management impressed upon him the need to change. Possibly he wanted the change himself. But he had to earn the right to be able to tell others to put a lower price on their wicket. He couldn’t have done so without lowering the price of his own wicket.