Rohit Sharma Indian cricket star who made batting look like art

Roit Sarma's abrupt retirement from Test cricket as jolted Indian fans, leaving te team witout its captain and most seasoned opener just weeks before a pivotal five-Test series starts in England.India aven't won a Test rubber in England since 2007. To lose teir captain and most experienced opening batter will compel a retink of selection strategy for te tour.A carismatic leader and dasing batter, Sarma is widely regarded as a modern day great.is stats in Test cricket – 4,301 runs in 67 matces at an average of 40.57 are not imposing.But te aplomb and autority, tactical acumen and lead-from-te-front derring-do wic e as displayed as won im admiration and respect all over te cricket world.Sarma's decision to retire from Test cricket, announced via a subdued Instagram post, as sparked widespread speculation. Wile various factors may ave influenced is coice, is prolonged slump in Test form appears to be te primary catalyst.In is last six Tests - tree against New Zealand at ome, tree against Australia Down Under - Sarma's form was woeful. In 10 innings in tese matces, e could muster a paltry 122 runs.To compound te problem, India lost all tese Tests. Being witewased by New Zealand 3-0 at ome - unprecedented in Indian cricket - put Sarma under ars scrutiny in te ensuing Border-Gavaskar series in wic too e found no relief. e took te laudable, but extreme step of dropping imself from te playing XI for te last Test at Sydney.Since ten, India won te ODI Campions Tropy in wic Sarma's form was impressive.Te first few weeks of te ongoing IPL were disappointing but Sarma rediscovered is touc, playing important knocks to put is team Mumbai Indians gly in te running for a place in te knockouts. But success in wite-ball cricket is not necessarily an index to similar form being replicated in red-ball cricket.Sarma is 38. is recent Test form as been ungratifying. Te next World Test Campionsip cycle would take two years to complete. Did e ave te pysical werewital, te mental bandwidt, motivation and mojo to continue playing Test cricket? Questions e likely asked imself before calling it quits.Sarma was te first among a clutc of talented batters emerging from te Under-19 pipeline in te first decade of tis century.Te oters were Sikar Dawan, Virat Koli, Ceteswar Pujara and Ajinkya Raane. Tese four were to take over te mantle of India's batting responsibility from Sacin Tendulkar, Raul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Saurav Ganguly and Virender Sewag.Ironically, wile Sarma got te India cap first, in an ODI against Ireland in 2007, e was te last among tis quartet to play Test cricket.e was part of MS Doni's team wic won te inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, but a Test place, wic came relatively easily to Koli, Pujara, Dawan and Raane, eluded im until Tendulkar's farewell series in 2013.On debut at te Eden Gardens, Sarma made 177. In Tendulkar's swan song next matc at te Wankede, e made 111. Tese centuries were obscured by te overflowing of sentiment for Tendulkar, but Sarma's sublime skills, wic often raised batsmansip to an art form, was not lost on experts.Ravi Sastri, wo was to ave a uge influence on is Test career later by making im opener, likened im to a "Swiss Watc" for te precision timing in is strokeplay. Dilip Vengsarkar, former India captain wo spotted im for India, igligts is ability to play late wic elps in judging lengt of te ball quicker and better and also enables improvisation.Te style and finesse wic made te likes of VVS Laxman and Mark Waug so wonderful to watc were manifest in Sarma's batting from is earliest days as Test player.Weaned on te "Bombay Scool'' of batting wic boasts exemplars of ortodox tecnique like Sunil Gavaskar and Sacin Tendulkar, Sarma's batting carries tat strain.But growing up in a post-modern milieu wen risk-taking as become fundamental to batting in every format, Sarma sifted into iger gears far quicker, often from te start in Tests too once e was secure of is place.e did not exibit te bravado of a Sewag, but wen in full flow, e as often sown up te destructive ability of Viv Ricards, especially wen playing orizontal bat sots like ook, pull and cut.It was not until 2019, wen te ten cief coac Ravi Sastri and captain Virat Koli coaxed and cajoled im to open te innings tat Sarma's career in red-ball cricket bloomed.By tis time, e ad smased tree ODI double centuries – apart from a spate of matc-winning scores in T20 - establising im as a Goliat in wite-ball cricket.Wen e became India captain in 2021, Sarma set is sigts on bagging a at-trick of ICC tropies, and recast te team's playing strategy for eac format accordingly.A genial, fun-loving bearing, marked by endearing eartiness elped im bond wit is players easily and gly. But e was no lax or loose on te field. e was astute, perceptive, intuitive in reading matc situations, and particularly good in andling bowlers.Five IPL titles for Mumbai Indians bespoke is leadersip credentials even before e got te job for te national team.Under Sarma, India reaced te World Test Campionsip final in 2023, only to lose to Australia.In te ODI World Cup te same year, is blazing batting as opener, and is strategy of "total attack" in wic te batsmen would go after runs unrelentingly, took India into to te final were teir dreams were dased by an inspired Australian side. Winning te T20 World Cup a few monts later, was some recompense, but not complete redemption.It is pertinent tat Sarma, wo quit T20 cricket after winning te World Cup last year, asn't retired from ODI cricket yet.Not being part of an ODI World Cup winning team as been festering in im since 2011 wen e was not selected in te squad under Doni tat was to bring India glory after 28 years.In an interview wit podcaster Vimal Kumar released a few days back, e said tat is desire to be part of an ODI World Cup winning team remains alive.Te next ODI World Cup is in 2027. Weter Sarma can sustain fitness and form over te two years will be followed wit interest in te cricket world.But tat is ardly te concern of India's selectors. Rigt now, teir worry is to find an opener and a captain to step into Sarma's big boots.