Former cricketer turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar had his say on how the India captain Rohit Sharma could live up to the expectations that he built for himself in 2019.
Coming on the heels of months of speculation and questions over his future, Rohit only bolstered his growing cult-like following by scoring a historic century in the second ODI against England in Cuttack on Sunday. After the blitzing show, which left all spectators spellbound, Manjrekar was quick to comment on how tiring the innings must have been considering the rigors of a fifty-over format.
“You could see it took a lot out of him that inning. Fifty-over cricket can be quite taxing physically on the bowler, fielder, and batter. Virat Kohli knows how physically draining it can be, and that is why his fitness level has allowed him to still get those hundreds by running the ones and twos,” said Manjrekar in an interview with ESPNcricinfo.
He perfectly mixed his power with stamina on his way to the unconquered 119 off 90. Rohit took a different approach for his 32nd ODI century; instead of going out with all guns blazing right from the first ball, he held his horses for a couple of deliveries before launching a scathing attack.
Rohit’s approach was not the one that he used in the 2019 ODI World Cup to make his rivals live in fear. He was a class apart from the others, finishing the tournament with 648 runs in nine matches.
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Rohit amassed five centuries and one fifty at an unbelievably good 81.00 strike rate from a mere 98.33 across nine matches. Rohit’s consistency achieved him the heights in the year 2019, and Manjrekar isn’t so sure of the Indian skipper being able to do it in 2025.
“Rohit Sharma wasn’t on a very attacking template where he needed to run a lot, but it was fantastic how he scored his double ton. But at his stage of career, when you watched him navigate through it all to get a huge hundred, you knew he wanted it. Whether he can do it day in and day out as he did back in 2019, we’ll have to wait and see. I have my doubts. However, both versions of Rohit Sharma, 2019 and 2023, are great for Indian cricket,” he stated.
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Sanjay Manjrekar said that it was a desperate personal and team situation where the batting was concerned. In fact, the 59-year-old points out that Rohit’s 119 was for the team but actually meant much more personally.
“He was not as attacking or trying to give India a flyer as he did in the World Cup. But still, when he chooses to pace his innings, it is astonishing how he makes it look so easy. He was extremely selective in the way he played his shots. I guess maybe in the next match, he would again play in a manner which he thought was best for the team; but this one was more for himself. Of course, he wanted the team to win, but this one he will say is for me,” he opined.
