Rohit Sharma is falling prey to media pressure: Dinesh Lad

Time and time again Rohit Sharma has failed to prove credentials in the Test format. The Mumbai batsmen’s failure to rise up in the Test format has been quite evident. The most recent example of it can be his failure to lift him team in the first innings of the ongoing 1st Test against New Zealand at Kanpur.

India was struggling on Day One of their 500th Test. He could have gone on to be the team’s saviour but with 44 balls remaining in the day. Unfortunately, fans realised this was just their fantasy after he was dismissed 35. He has got off to a start but failed to convert it much to the disappointment of the Indians. He has been doing for long now.

There are two contrasting performers in Rohit Sharma; one is a titan in the ODI format but the other is a minnow which can be easily tamed in the longest form of the game. After impressing in his first two Tests with hundreds, Rohit had dismal run. His average reads 23.89 from the next 30 innings that he has played. While in ODIs, he scores at 42.08 and holds a couple of unthinkable feats.

On Thursday, he did all the hard work as he worked his way to 35, before playing a needless stroke off Mitchell Santner to give away his wicket. Rohit Sharma’s coach Dinesh Lad knows him very well. He was the one who spotted him and ha groomed him to reach this level. Lad in an interview with mid-day put the blame on ODI cricket for Rohit’s indifferent Test form.

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“Rohit is playing his shots too early. Today too, he was early on the shot and his bat shook, that’s why he was caught at long-on. He is also falling prey to media pressure and he cannot handle this. It is disturbing him mentally. He is not going out there with a free mind,” said Lad, whose son Siddhesh is a key batsman in the Mumbai Ranji side.

Emphasising further on this, Lad added, “He has had to play too many T20s and ODIs. In limited overs cricket, if you play your shots early, the ball will reach the boundary line because the white ball travels faster than the red one.”

However, the coach believes in his pupil and says he just needs one big knock to make a statement and there is nothing wrong with his technique. “He just needs one innings to make a strong comeback. I will call to tell him not to get pressurised since all is well where his technique is concerned,” he said.

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Indian captain Virat Kohli is bearing the brunt of criticism for putting his faith on Rohit. Earlier, this month, selector Sandeep Patil spoke about giving Rohit a longer rope in Test cricket as the committee felt that he has not played enough games on the trot. It is now up to Rohit to make the faith count.