Now, he is back in the Mumbai dressing room to find his rhythm and help his home team secure a win in a must-win Elite Group ‘A’ game against J&K
Rohit Sharma at the BKC nets yesterday. Pic/Anurag Ahire
Though it’s a Ranji Trophy league game between defending champions Mumbai and Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) starting at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Bandra-Kurla Complex ground today, all eyes will be on India’s Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma, who will open the batting for the hosts.
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In his last red-ball outing, Rohit managed just three and nine in the Melbourne Test against Australia last month. Considering his poor form (31 in three Tests Down Under), he opted out of the series-deciding Sydney Test. Now, he is back in the Mumbai dressing room to find his rhythm and help his home team secure a win in a must-win Elite Group ‘A’ game against J&K.
Over the last few days, Rohit participated in a couple of net sessions with the Mumbai team. On Wednesday, he headed straight to the centre pitch, spent a few minutes there trying to read it and get a feel of the batting by visualising it. Later, in the nearby nets, he looked confident, middling the ball with well-timed drives for around half-an-hour.
Ajinkya Rahane
“What is important is that he [Rohit] is hungry. He is determined to do well. No one has to tell Rohit what he needs to do. He knows his game really well. Once he gets in there, I’m sure he will do well,” Mumbai skipper Ajinkya Rahane told reporters on the eve of the match.
Though Rohit is likely to be available for only one game, Rahane feels his presence in the Mumbai dressing room will inspire young players to improve. Rohit last played a Ranji game during the 2015-16 season, scoring 113 against Uttar Pradesh.
“It’s great to have Rohit back after so many years for Mumbai. Everyone can learn a lot from him. Personally, Rohit and I have played together since age-group cricket and for India, so I think his inputs over the next four days will be extremely important,” Rahane remarked.
Apart from Rohit, Mumbai boast a strong line-up comprising India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, in-form batter Shreyas Iyer, all-rounder Shivam Dube, off-spinning all-rounder Tanush Kotian, left-arm spinner Shams Mulani and pacer Shardul Thakur. After five games, Mumbai are placed third with 22 points. Table-toppers Baroda and second-placed J&K have 27 and 23 points respectively.
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