The former Indian opening batter, Sunil Gavaskar, has sent a piece of advice for the struggling Rohit Sharma, who felt to make a mark in the second Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 in the day-night contest at the Adelaide Oval. The latter could smash only scores of three and six in both innings of the encounter.
Rohit Sharma, who missed the opening Test due to paternity leave for both of his second child that the Jasprit Bumrah-led side went on to win with a 295-run margin at the Optus Stadium in Perth, looked out of rhythm as he walked out at number six for the very first time in the longest format since 2018.
In the first innings, the 36-year-old, in the twilight session, was trapped in front of the stumps by Scott Boland, while in the second innings, under full effect of the floodlights, he was cleaned up by a great delivery from Pat Cummins, which squared the batter up.
Also Read: Rohit Sharma At No.6 Good Decision? Sunil Gavaskar And Ricky Ponting Differ In Their Opinions
Sunil Gavaskar suggested that the Indian captain would need to adopt a more focused approach to warm up before stepping onto the pitch, as he has not been in good touch in recent times. Rohit Sharma, who pocketed just 91 runs in six innings at an average of around 15 with one solitary half-century against New Zealand at home, has gathered only 597 runs in 23 innings at an average of 27.14 shouldering one two-centuries and two half-centuries.
Rohit Sharma urged to do some jogging for improvement in foot movement
The right-handed batter has also found the conditions of Australia challenging, on the back of his 417 runs in 16 innings at an average of around 27.80 with a strike rate of under 50, with just three half-centuries in his name.
One of the concerns for the batter was that his feet stopped moving, and that was something that the Australian pacers targeted. Mitchell Starc had almost trapped him before the stumps, only for it to be a no-ball at the end. Gavaskar shared his view on what had been wrong with the feet movement of the batter.
“I think the feet aren’t moving as they should. He needs to do a little bit of exercise before coming to the crease and try to get some circulation going in the legs.” The former Indian captain expressed at the end of the second Test match.
“He has always been a slow starter as far as foot movement is concerned. It’s not just a recent problem. The older you get, the more pronounced it becomes.” Sunil Gavaskar added, highlighting that the Mumbai batter has always been a slow starter in terms of his footwork, and with age, the issue has gone up.
The former right-handed batter has been clear with the advice and made the point that the 36-year-old would be needed to make jogging before the first ball.
Also Read: “Leather Lounge Chair”- Rohit Sharma Mocked By Matthew Hayden In 2nd D/N Adelaide Test
“When he comes in to bat, maybe run in a little bit, so that the circulation is there. Do some jogging before you take the first ball.” Sunil Gavaskar added.
Rohit Sharma will look to make a sharp turnaround in the third Test of the series at the Gabba in Brisbane, as the series is now leveled at 1-1. With the defeat, India is at the end point of not confirming their qualification for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25. They have slipped to the third position of the current table, with Australia going back to the top.
