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Rohit Sharma: A Retrospective on a Career of Unfulfilled Potential
The retirement of Rohit Sharma from Test cricket marks a significant moment in the landscape of Indian cricket, followed by Virat Kohli's own retirement. In this discourse, we explore the implications of Rohit's departure, reflecting on his illustrious yet enigmatic career, characterized by flashes of brilliance juxtaposed with bouts of inconsistency. As we delve into the circumstances surrounding his retirement, we consider the potential impact on the Indian team, particularly with regard to the upcoming England tour and the need for emerging talent to step into the void left by such formidable figures. We analyze Rohit's contributions as a batter and captain, weighing both the triumphs and challenges he faced throughout his journey. Ultimately, this episode is a tribute to a player whose legacy will resonate within the annals of cricket history, inviting contemplation on what lies ahead for Indian cricket in the wake of his retirement.
Transcript
Hello and welcome to the last wicked.
Speaker A:My name is Benny.
Speaker A:Thank you for joining us.
Speaker A:And as a continuation of our last episode where we discussed Virat Kohli's test retirement, we are going to discuss the retirement of another legend, Rohit Sharma.
Speaker A:So to talk about Rohit and more, I have my co host Mayank with me.
Speaker A:Hello Mayank.
Speaker B:Hey Benny.
Speaker A:So we have the retirement stuff to talk about but I know that the IPO has resumed after a very short break.
Speaker A:Let's call it any takes any.
Speaker A:Just based on the two games I guess.
Speaker A:Any thoughts on how the tournament is shaping up as far as you know we've had some eliminations, we've had some confirmed teams for the playoffs.
Speaker A:We are your thoughts on it?
Speaker B:Yeah, I don't know if there's been too much of a surprise.
Speaker B:I, I think the gt Sorry, not gt.
Speaker B:Punjab Kings were the, were the team that were pushing for it.
Speaker B:I think Gujarat and RCB were in pretty good spots already.
Speaker B:So yeah, I don't think the three qualifications are a surprise at all considering how they did before the break.
Speaker B:So I, I guess so far it feels like yeah, Mumbai should be the fourth one and, and it'll be pretty much the four that were expected before the break happened and then you know how it goes.
Speaker B:The playoffs are always all over the place so you have no idea.
Speaker B:We have, we have no idea who ends up where.
Speaker A:I mean that's, that's fair.
Speaker A:And honestly I'm surprised as well that.
Speaker A:Well, I don't know if it's a bright is the right word but I mean we've been talking about how Mumbai Indians have been looking good recently and at least in my opinion they should go on to win the whole tournament.
Speaker A:But literally with one spot left we Mumbai are still not confirmed.
Speaker A:But yeah, it'll be interesting because I really like how Gujra Titans have really shaped up recently and especially their recent win over Delhi was pretty commanding I should say, you know a 10 wicket victory when chasing a 200 plus total.
Speaker A:Their openers seem to be in the form of their lives.
Speaker A:And so I mentioned this previously on the Pod but after Chennai Super Kings I'm Guer Titans are my favorite team so hoping that they can mitigate to some extent the disappointment that CSK are not there but by going on to win the tournament.
Speaker A:But yeah, it looks like it's going to be a cracking finish to the tournament so I'm interested to see how it's all gonna end up.
Speaker A:But we're here to talk about Rohit and we Kind of briefly touched upon it last time.
Speaker A:You know, it's, it was a very momentous week, you know, with Rohit and Kohli announcing their retirements from the test format within days of each other.
Speaker A:And so yeah.
Speaker A:What are your initial, just like your first take on it?
Speaker A:I guess.
Speaker A:Like what, what are your feelings on the timing of the announcement?
Speaker B:Yeah, I guess similar to Kohli, it's been interesting because he went back.
Speaker B:Rohit went back and played one domestic game for Mumbai.
Speaker B:In one of the interviews, you know, he set out the Sydney Test which got way more coverage than it needed to.
Speaker B:But, but when he did set that one out, there was all these rumors about retirement and he came out and said, this is not retirement.
Speaker B:I was just not informed and, and if you want to continue playing.
Speaker B:So things have changed since then.
Speaker B:I, I personally think it's a good thing.
Speaker B:He's, you know, he's 38, he's at that age, everything from reflexes to eyesight, everything starts to slow down probably even a little bit earlier.
Speaker B:So I think it's the right call for the Indian team to move forward and try to find their next opening combination, which luckily they already have.
Speaker B:KL and Yashasvi Jaswal, who are both pretty amazing, but also find that leadership, that next leader, create that leadership group and fine tune that over the next WTC cycle so that maybe towards the end of that they feel they have a solid, you know, 25 man group that they can rely on.
Speaker B:So timing wise, the, the statement that he made, all of that is a little bit surprising that he's gone on to retire.
Speaker B:But I'm guessing that, you know, as we discussed with the Kohli at retirement, it sounded as if there was a little bit of pressure from the board or some sort of signal from the board and I guess from an Indian cricket perspective that's definitely the right path.
Speaker A:Yeah, the conjecture leading up to his announcement was that, you know, there were strong hints or pretty, pretty strong nudge from either Gautam Gabir or from the board themselves that it was time for Rohit to step down as captain and that he could still, you know, be part of the team but just not as captain.
Speaker A:Now again, this is all conjecture.
Speaker A:We don't know what's true or not.
Speaker A:But even if we take that at face value, I think it was fair if we are try if, you know, the Indian Cricket board is serious about looking to the future, developing talent over the next year or two, especially in terms of finding replacements for Rohit and Kohli.
Speaker A:I Don't think doing it so abruptly helps.
Speaker A:I think it should have been gradual.
Speaker A:What I mean by that is I wish they had convinced Rohit to stay on for the England tour because it's going to be a tough tour, you know, it's going to be India always.
Speaker A:They struggle more often than not in English conditions.
Speaker A:And you need experience, you need skill.
Speaker A:And I think it would have helped even if it was not Rohit the skipper, just his presence to help the younger players.
Speaker A:But to me it sounds like, you know, Rohit was just, he set a phase in his life where he's not going to be bothered or, you know, it's going to care about these things if he doesn't feel that he's wanted, you know, in a capacity as a leader, like as a former leader and coinciding with, you know, the poor performances in the New Zealand series and in Australia series, I can see why he wanted to leave.
Speaker A:So the retirement announcement itself doesn't come as a surprise to me, but I, I just wish he had stayed on for the England tour to shepherd the younger players and then gradually, you know, let the next generation of batters step up.
Speaker B:I, I personally think, you know, if you look at the batting lineup we'll have in England, Rahul has been to England multiple times, Pant has been there multiple times, Jadeja of course, and then you know, Gil Jaswal, like obviously there'll be some new faces but these players have played India, have gone on ndia tours.
Speaker B:They're actually some of them, including the likes of Sai Sudarshan are going early still to play a couple of warm up games and then Gil is joining on the second warm up game.
Speaker B:So I do think they have enough experience there.
Speaker B:Yes, it's not the same as playing a test match in England, but nonetheless there's enough experience there, enough knowledge there that they can do just fine.
Speaker B:So I think it's a good time to move on.
Speaker B:I personally think a struggle in a foreign tour teaches you a lot more than a domestic tour.
Speaker B:So if, let's say if India's next series was a home series, I could still justify.
Speaker B:I, I personally think it would be still justifiable to say, hey, let's have Rohit and Kohli stay on for another series or, or maybe the first three matches of a five match series, something like that, to allow for a transition.
Speaker B:But I think going abroad it's probably just best to give youngsters as many opportunities as possible so that maybe in two years time when we go, go to England next They are in much better shape.
Speaker A:I mean, the prospect of young players stepping up or new faces, fresh faces does sound exciting on one hand, but on the other hand, I, as an Indian cricket fan, I'm not going to enjoy the sight of them getting walloped, you know, them looking clueless.
Speaker A:The, the one mitigating factor I think is that, I mean, Jimi Anderson is not around, so it's probably not going to be as tough as, you know, the past English tours where he was just always around, always troubling the batter.
Speaker A:So I'm hoping it's not as tough as it used to be.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, I, I accept your point.
Speaker A:I think it'll be.
Speaker A:Overall, I think it's probably good for Indian cricket.
Speaker A:It's just happening sooner or just in a more abrupt manner than I would have expected it to be or wanted it to be.
Speaker A:But I think there's, you know, Kohlian Rohit, they've been such huge, huge presence in the Indian team in all formats and with them leaving the T20s and the tests and it looks like they'll be around for the one Day International at least till the next World Cup.
Speaker A:But you don't have too many games in ODIs anymore anyway, so you're, you're going to see them around in Indian colors.
Speaker A:But here and there, you know, it was going to be kind of sprinkled here and there, which really leaves such a big opportunity for younger or even like older players who have been out in the wilderness to come back and establish themselves.
Speaker A:So from a perspective of an Indian cricket fan, yes, we will miss these players, but I think it's also a great opportunity for, for new stars to kind of step up and honestly for the results to pick back up.
Speaker A:You know, we've enjoyed some great success as Indian cricket fans in the Test format in the past years, but I have to admit the last 12 months or so has been very disheartening.
Speaker A:You know, you know, getting whitewashed at home.
Speaker A:And then the Australia series, the Australia tour also being very disappointing, losing out on qualifying for the WTC finals.
Speaker A:So I think it's a good time as any for a new chapter in Indian Test cricket.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B: nd Lakshman retired after the: Speaker B:India had similar challenges.
Speaker B:You know, they were, they were facing a transitioning team.
Speaker B:They had lost out on, on quality Bowling attack.
Speaker B: in: Speaker B:And then after that they had a couple of years, couple of really challenging years, particularly abroad.
Speaker B:They even lost to England at home.
Speaker B: And that meant that: Speaker B:So it's been a really good phase since then.
Speaker B:Having said that, I don't expect us to go down to number seven in, in test ranking just because of the quality of the Indian lineup, even, even if they are newer faces.
Speaker B:And also of course the fact that, you know, now it's, it's like we play two matches with New Zealand, maybe three at max, two matches with South Africa and we only really reserve our longer series for England and Australia.
Speaker B:So it's going to be tough from that standpoint.
Speaker B:But, but yeah, probably we'll need, you know, another two, two, three year period before the team is back at its peak and doing really well.
Speaker A:Agreed.
Speaker B:Let's talk about Rohit the batter.
Speaker B:To start with, when we're talking about Kohli, we discussed like his ability to get runs on in really tough conditions.
Speaker B: Whether it was like Perth: Speaker B:It's interesting that Rohit actually has a very similar story.
Speaker B:Of course, for a shorter duration he played 67 tests.
Speaker B:And one of the really amazing stats that I read since his retirement was through Jared Kimber.
Speaker B:He mentioned that in Tests where the batting average was more than 30, Rohit was actually 10% worse than as compared to the rest of the top order.
Speaker B:But in Tests where his where the average was lower than 30, the ball was doing a lot, the wicket was tough, he was 120 better, which is absolutely insane.
Speaker B:And I think this is probably a really good testament to the fact that in India in recent times, the pitches have been incredibly tough and you've seen Rohit come out and bat with a lot of aggression.
Speaker B:Take on the bowlers, make sure you know the new ball as long as the pacers are bowling, even if it's for pretty brief, they're scoring runs and, and putting the opposition on the back foot.
Speaker B:And that's enabled him to have this incredible record even if it's for a shorter duration, shorter career.
Speaker B:So yeah, even though his impact has not been as long as Kohli's, that's quite a, you know, crazy stat to have your name.
Speaker A:I mean, it's, it's a very good, you know, this stat is actually a very good way to encapsulate Rohit because Rohit Sharma is an enigma.
Speaker A:You know, he's, he's been an enigma throughout his career.
Speaker A:And to me, he always struck, he always struck me as the kind of player who would go for just stretches looking very disinterested or even like out of touch, or he would score like a very pretty 20, 30 and then kind of like just go bored and get out.
Speaker A:But then if he gets switched on or if you, you know, again, I'm talking about impressions, you know, if he looked like he was switched on, you know, he would just murder the bowling attacks.
Speaker A:I mean, it's no small feat.
Speaker A:And I know we were talking about tests, but just switching to one day cricket, for instance, scoring double hundreds almost casually and also not just like a 200, 210, 264 and then doing it again.
Speaker A:And it just shows the abundance of talent, the abundance of temperament, the skill that he has.
Speaker A:It's just like almost terrifying as an opposition when you see that player who looks like so unruffled, just score runs so casually, even when you're trying your best against him.
Speaker A:And, and so in test cricket especially, you know, you look at that set and you, the first inference you can make is that, you know, he's the kind of player who needs a challenge, who needs, who, who, who needs to prove to everyone that he's the kind of player who steps up when it's tough for everyone else.
Speaker A:But if it's easier, then he can't be bothered.
Speaker A:You know, he's like, whatever, I'll just play my normal game.
Speaker A:Which, which is why I say he's an enigma.
Speaker A:Because, you know, one of the things that has been the, some of the, one of the words that's been used to describe him and which has also been used with Luxman for that matter, is his languid.
Speaker A:And what many people mean by that is it's almost this lazy elegance to him, or just outright lazy sometimes, right, where you feel like the player is not putting in his 100%, he's just batting without really, really, really committing himself.
Speaker A:And to me that may be a misinterpretation of, you know, Rohit Sharma because you can't have the records that he has in the formats that he has played without him being really, really good.
Speaker A:If he didn't really, if he was lazy, he, if he was genuinely lazy, like, he wouldn't have got the runs in the conditions that he played in.
Speaker A:But overall, you look at his career and you see that it's just a tale of what if, you know, he's played lesser games, he's not as score, he's not scored as many rounds and he averages much less than what anyone would think.
Speaker A:So yeah, I, I, I think that it's hard to explain like how he is so, how he's good, how he's been good at certain times and just like how at other times he's just looked so clueless and till the end, till the end of his career he's been that way.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's a really interesting point because I mean you talked about the what if and, and that's certainly something that, you know, as I was thinking about his career came to my mind.
Speaker B:His friend and briefly Indian coach, Indian assistant coach Abhishek Nair.
Speaker B:He posted when Rohit announced his retirement that he ended up eight short of his goal.
Speaker B:So it sounded like Rohit wanted to play 75 Test matches.
Speaker B:He's ended eight short which you know, may not seem that much.
Speaker B: til such retirement series in: Speaker B:And yet you, you have to think about the what if for his career because even after that he missed so many test matches.
Speaker B:He had a long phase where he was just struggling for consistency.
Speaker B:There would be the odd great innings at home and then again some bad, some low patches and things like that.
Speaker B:So I do think that there's, you know, if he was consistent with right from the beginning he would have a record, you know, something that would be maybe not at the level of Kohli but you know, it would be close in terms of number of matches to at least pujara, you know, 100 test matches is what I'm thinking.
Speaker B:That would be something that should have been possible for Rohit considering how early he was identified, how he was always amongst the runs, how easy he made it look on his day.
Speaker B:But somehow it just never happened for him.
Speaker B: lt like it didn't click until: Speaker B: post that: Speaker B:So I think that that hunger came maybe it came late or when it did you know when he had that hunger, when he had that focus for test cricket, he was just not getting enough chances because the Indian team itself was pretty settled.
Speaker B: You know, you think about the: Speaker B:The middle order was pretty packed as well.
Speaker B:You had somebody like Karunaya come in, score a triple hundred and then not be able to retain his spot.
Speaker B:So there really was not a spot easily available for Rohit.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B: n he came back to the team in: Speaker A: ly days, like right back from: Speaker A:Like, it's a label that he absolutely hates.
Speaker A:But it's very true.
Speaker A:He's been given so many chances now, let's say.
Speaker A:I think the closest comparison right now would be someone like Sanju Sampson, right?
Speaker A:They're given plenty of chances, but it's not always at a stretch.
Speaker A:They're given chances for a while, then they're talking about early phase of Roy Sharma's career.
Speaker A:They play a few games, then they're out of the team, then they come back, play a few games.
Speaker A:They never really had an opportunity.
Speaker A:And in Rhodes, case you're right, it was stacked.
Speaker A:I mean, he started at a time when, you know, the Tendulkers, Ravitz and Lakshmitz were still around.
Speaker A: ou know, especially the early: Speaker A:And still among all of this, he was still earmarked as one of the most talented, if not the most talented batter in Indian cricket at a time when Virat Kohli was, you know, establishing his own credentials.
Speaker A:And so I look at that and I feel like circumstances can always be ascribed to why he did not scale the heights one would have expected him to.
Speaker A:Yes, you can talk about, you know, the batting conditions having just become more challenging in recent era, quality of bowlers.
Speaker A: grabbing his opportunities pre: Speaker A:You know, in that first few years, he was competing with some really amazing batters, but he didn't quite grab his opportunity in that era, unlike, let's say a Virat Kohli.
Speaker A:And I just.
Speaker A:That's another what if.
Speaker A:Like, you know, what if he had just grabbed his opportunity and displaced one or two of those players?
Speaker A:He might have got to 100 tests by now.
Speaker A:His average might have been in the 50 60s.
Speaker A:We don't know.
Speaker A:Again, we're just making assumptions.
Speaker A:But I think a lot of the what ifs comes down to ultimately Rohit himself.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I think one of the things that come to mind as we think about it is the way he turned it around.
Speaker B: If you look at: Speaker B:And, and you know, there were a lot of people who used to call him home bully and all of that in test matches, but actually that was one of the best hundreds he scored because it was on a seeming wicket.
Speaker B:There was Rabada and company who were bowling first and, and were getting good movement, but he batted with a lot of discipline.
Speaker B: when India went to England in: Speaker B:That probably was his.
Speaker B:You know, I guess we shouldn't call a series a peak, but, you know, that was a highlight of his test career in a way because he's already been used to dominating everywhere in, in India in test matches as well.
Speaker B:But there was a lot that was written about him in that series and the way he prepared right from batting coach Vikram Rathar at that point to his opener, Mayank Agarwal, who, who talked about how he was just very focused on leaving the ball, watching it very closely.
Speaker B:And that was probably his, his p.
Speaker B:Peak series.
Speaker B:He batted really well.
Speaker B:And India, it was a big reason why India was 2 up in the series before it got interrupted due to Covid.
Speaker B: an opener in, in that phase,: Speaker A:Oh, he was the best, in my opinion, you know, best opener in the world at that point.
Speaker A:I mean, sure, you had a lot of other players from other countries were scoring the runs, were scoring the big knocks, you know, but when Rohit was batting in that phase, negotiating some of the best new ball bowlers and also scoring runs at a fair clip, you know, he, he, you finally saw the Rohit that everyone had been waiting for, you know, for years, been waiting for that Rohit to emerge.
Speaker A:And he was now actually displaying, displaying his skill and talent at a very consistent level.
Speaker A:You know, the quality, the knocks were quality.
Speaker A:And even if they were not necessarily always like the big hundreds, the big double hundreds when he was batting, you felt assured as an Indian fan, it was you're like, okay, Rohit is there.
Speaker A:Rohit and Kohli is there.
Speaker A:You know, that's the kind of feeling we had, you know, back when Tendulkar and Ravid would bat together.
Speaker A:You're like, okay, I can breathe easy now because everything is going to be fine.
Speaker A:They're going to negotiate this.
Speaker A:That's the feeling that I had when Rohit was hit that peak, as he said, or that highlight of his career.
Speaker A:During that phase, you just felt things were going to be okay.
Speaker A:You know, the batting was going to be okay.
Speaker A:Rohit is making it look easy.
Speaker A:And if he was not making it look easy, he was at le.
Speaker A:He looked very determined to just hang in there, get.
Speaker A:Get the runs for India, like, bad time.
Speaker A:Whatever needed to be done, he was going to do it.
Speaker A:And I think at that point, there were a few other openers in international cricket who could match that combination of presence and runs.
Speaker A:And so I think that came at a good time for Indian cricket as well, because you really needed someone along with Kohli because you had all these other players.
Speaker A:You know, you mentioned the Shikar down, the Murdli Vijays, Mayank Agarwal, all had great moments in their career, but no one really stuck.
Speaker A:But with Rohit, that was not the case.
Speaker A:You finally got the Rohit that we had been waiting for.
Speaker A:And that was a glorious phase of his career and coincided with Indian Test cricket really taking off in those years.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's interesting that it coincided with down or, you know, not as good a patch for Virat Kohli.
Speaker B:And it's.
Speaker B:I was thinking about this before the podcast.
Speaker B:It's actually very similar to the Dravid Tendulkar story because obviously Sachin Tendulkar had a very long career and he had multiple times when he did not have, you know, wasn't going as smoothly.
Speaker B:He had injuries and things like that.
Speaker B: one of those patches was the: Speaker B: cidentally, Dravid's peak was: Speaker B:So it worked out really well for the Indian team.
Speaker B:And I think it was kind of similar with Rohit as.
Speaker B:As Kohli's presence and his.
Speaker B:The runs he was getting started to go down.
Speaker B:Rohit was able to step up and.
Speaker B:And just contribute heavily at the top of the order.
Speaker B:So that definitely worked out in.
Speaker B:In India's favor.
Speaker B:But I think the other aspect of it is, I think until that happened, it almost felt like a Yuvraj Singh like career where, you know, the moment somebody saw him, Batman, they were like, wow, this guy is some has so much talent, he has so much time.
Speaker B:You know, they would be surprised how Yurat Singh could not have a illustrious desk career after all the one day NT20 records that he, you know, has to his name.
Speaker B: hat Rohit had accomplished by: Speaker B:So I do agree with you that there was a sense of, yes, finally Rohit is ready to be a test player.
Speaker B:I think the one aspect that was somewhat, that somewhat hurts his test legacy is his injuries and fitness.
Speaker B:There were a lot of tours that were missed.
Speaker B: o we talked about the England: Speaker B:And he was injured, he was out.
Speaker B: ies after that Africa tour in: Speaker B:I think from a fitness perspective, there's.
Speaker B:There's little doubt that there was more work to be done.
Speaker B:Injuries, fitness, all of those made sure that even during his peak, he did miss a fair number of games and important doors.
Speaker A:I mean, that's one of the biggest differences between Kohli and Rohit, right?
Speaker A:We all know one player, one of them is so obsessed with maintaining his fitness, setting high standards not just for himself, but for a lot of the Indian youngsters who were coming up at the time Kohli was at his peak.
Speaker A:And on the other hand, you had Rohit, who, whose focus, I think his mindset is very similar to Saurav Ganguly in that respect, where it's like, yeah, yeah, fitness is good, but.
Speaker A:But most more important is the runs that you score and how well you handle tough bowling attacks on any given day.
Speaker A:And I think that to some extent does factor in as to why, you know, he never reached the heights that he could have because he never really put so much emphasis on fitness.
Speaker A:And I, yeah, I wish he had taken a leaf out of Goalie's book for that matter.
Speaker A:Just prioritizing fitness for at least during the time that he was his place was not permanent.
Speaker A:Maybe that could have just changed his mindset the way it did Kohli.
Speaker A:And we would have seen a version of Rohit that we never got to see.
Speaker A:So definitely that's a big miss.
Speaker A:You know, the, you know, he already missed out on so many prime years know early on because of all the different options that India had and then finally when he was essentially established and also, you know, getting the leadership role that he would have loved to for years prior.
Speaker A:And then you lose out on opportunities or you lose out on really establishing your place and really strengthening your legacy because you missed out due to injury reasons.
Speaker A:So I think that's another big factor as to why Roy never really attained the heights that he could have.
Speaker B:Absolutely agree.
Speaker B:I was also thinking before we talk about his captaincy and we obviously, you know, he didn't have as long a career as captain as Kohli did, even though he did.
Speaker B: k put him with the other post: Speaker B:I obviously don't want to bring in the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and those players because one, we've seen, we've not seen them live.
Speaker B:And second, cricket was really different in that era.
Speaker B: regularly for India since the: Speaker B:How do you see him in comparison to the Sevags and Gautam Gambirs and Murdery witches of the world?
Speaker A:For me, Virender Seva comes first.
Speaker A: st test opener for India post: Speaker A:He will easily be one of the best test openers India has had in their history.
Speaker A:And I think anyone else will be a distant second.
Speaker A:I mean, Rohit has had some amazing performances.
Speaker A:He's had like some good highlights and some knocks that he both him and Indian cricket fans will cherish.
Speaker A:But Sewag was just a class apart.
Speaker A:Like I always maintain that Render Sivag was a better test batsman than he was in limited overs.
Speaker A:And the fact that he dominated attacks with this absolutely casual attitude which, you know, if he wasn't scoring runs and when he did score runs, it, it really looked like it, it didn't look great, right?
Speaker A:It looked like he didn't care.
Speaker A:It didn't look like he was committed, but he had more peaks.
Speaker A:And so when he was at his best, he was just one of the finest in international cricket.
Speaker A:So for me, Vender Saag will always be on top.
Speaker A:I think Mur deserves more credit than he than he gets because, you know, we're talking about some of the quality bowling attacks that he faced and he really came good overseas, which not a lot of Indian openers can say.
Speaker A:And I really wish his career had taken off better because when he was in full flow, there were not too many more pleasing batters, you know, not too many more pleasing on the eye.
Speaker A:And he.
Speaker A:He was as compact in defense as he could be aggressive and pleasing to watch.
Speaker A:In many respects.
Speaker A:I feel like Rohit and Vijay, they have many similarities, but of course, one player's career completely shot, shot off.
Speaker A:So I.
Speaker A:I have a soft spot for Murali Vijay.
Speaker A:I think he was one of the best openers that India's had recently.
Speaker A:Gambira's okay.
Speaker A:I mean, yes, Gambir was a more.
Speaker A:I always felt he was more suited for stodgy knocks, you know, where if you needed an opener just to, like, plug one end and just, like, keep it safe, he was the best.
Speaker A:I can't remember too many great knocks.
Speaker A:I think there was that one knock in New Zealand where he helped save.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's the one that comes to mind.
Speaker A:And he.
Speaker A:I can't remember too many of his other knocks, whereas with the others, I can, like, think of, like, three, four innings where they really shown.
Speaker A: e the number one batsman post: Speaker B:It's interesting you say that because in my mind, Rohit and have had a very similar career.
Speaker B:When you look at domestic, like when you look at tests in India, I should say, and what I mean by that is Sahavag was absolutely known to be a monster at home.
Speaker B:He would dominate attacks, he would score quickly.
Speaker B: The: Speaker B:Otherwise, there was no chance of trying to chase that down.
Speaker B:But having said all that, he had his struggles overseas.
Speaker B:And so in many ways, it felt like Rohit's career was headed towards a little bit of that, you know, a lot of great brilliant flashes in India, not as much to show abroad.
Speaker B: en you think about, like, the: Speaker B: But that: Speaker B:It puts him really, really close to Seawag, if, If not above.
Speaker B:I think he's been arguably.
Speaker B:And again, we can disagree, but I.
Speaker B:I think it's been just that overseas performances that he showed.
Speaker B:And then also when the wickets were really tough in India, he scored some great 70s and 80s and some hundreds as well.
Speaker B:And I think because of those reasons, he's slightly above Sevag in my book.
Speaker B:And primarily because of the difficulty of wickets that he performed on.
Speaker B:I don't think I ever remember Sehwag playing a knock like that on really tough wickets.
Speaker B:He was more a dominating batsman in an era where pitches were flatter.
Speaker B:So that's.
Speaker B:That's my memory of it.
Speaker B:I will agree that Vijay deserves a little more credit than he gets, but.
Speaker B:But yeah, I do think it's.
Speaker B:Vijay and Gambir are a little bit behind.
Speaker B:Both had good, smaller peaks.
Speaker B: k Rohit was really solid from: Speaker B: Really, it was: Speaker B:But apart from that, he had five really solid years.
Speaker B:Gambir and Vijay both probably had two to three year periods where they looked really good.
Speaker B: There was a time in: Speaker B:So they had their small peaks, but they were never consistent enough to be compared to Rohit.
Speaker A:In my mind, Sabago is just very thrilling to watch.
Speaker A:I mean, sure, the conditions were flat, but it was, you know, the conditions were more batter friendly, but it was better friendly for everyone, right?
Speaker A:All the batters of that era.
Speaker A:And then for him to just take a step up and level up almost among his contemporaries and score the double hundreds and the triple hundreds and do it in an attitude, with an attitude where, you know, as a boulder, if I was a bowler, I would be like, this guy doesn't look like he really cares.
Speaker A:And he's just like here to just score a quick 20, 30 and get out.
Speaker A:But he would stay on and he would keep smashing you all day.
Speaker A:I mean, it was just thrilling to watch.
Speaker A:So I guess that does color the fact for me, it was just.
Speaker A:It was just great to have a batter like that, you know, in our side.
Speaker A:And Rohit, who knows, maybe if he had got as many opportunities as Sevag did in that same era, maybe that would be a good way to see how they would have matched up.
Speaker A:But yeah, I mean, India were very fortunate to have these two players in the eras that we had them.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:And actually, as you say that, I was just thinking about it, like, growing up, we saw the likes of Shiv Sundar Das and Sangopan Ramesh and all these openers who were Devang Gandhi.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:Over tried and they failed, you know, despite getting a number of chances.
Speaker B:So considering that, I think India has come a long way that we have somebody like Yasha Sweej as well, who is at, you know, 23 or 24, whatever his age is, is absolutely bashing bowlers.
Speaker B:You know, he's bashing Michelle Stark and telling him you're bowling too slowly on his first tour to Australia.
Speaker B:So we've come a long, long way for sure.
Speaker B:And yeah, no wonder.
Speaker B:It's been a couple of really great decades to watch Indian cricket.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:The other piece that we have to talk about is Rohit's captaincy.
Speaker B:Admittedly, like, obviously he's.
Speaker B:He didn't get a chance to captain the Test team for as long.
Speaker B:He's.
Speaker B:He's done a lot more T20s and then one days, then Test cricket.
Speaker B:But looking at his overall record, 12 wins, nine losses, if you look at Tests abroad, just eight Tests and out of which two wins, I, I think we all will agree that the biggest issue with, or not issue, but the biggest reason why people will claim that he wasn't that good a captain in Test cricket is the 03 loss against New Zealand, which you also mentioned at the beginning of the episode.
Speaker B:How do you look at him as a captain in Test cricket?
Speaker B:Specifically Benny.
Speaker B:And I guess one of the things that was, in my mind was, you know, a transitioning team.
Speaker B:Do we give him the benefit of doubt or give the team the benefit of doubt with regards to that New Zealand series loss?
Speaker A:I mean, to some extent, right, you can give him the benefit of the doubt, but the fact of the matter is, when it comes to the home record that India has had for decades now, obviously it's not the first time that India's lost a Test series at home.
Speaker A:You know, we've lost it to, I think, South Africa, Australia, England.
Speaker B: England was the Last one in: Speaker B:So this was the first home series since then.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So in the last, what, 25 years, there's probably four series that they have lost then, if, if I'm not mistaken.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:So it's obviously not unusual, but never has an Indian side been whitewashed and done so in a manner where it didn't even feel like they had chances, they had like good moments, sure.
Speaker A:But it never felt, at least to me, never felt like India had a chance to win any of those tests at a good chance of winning those.
Speaker A:And a lot of that goes to fair or not fair, it goes to the captain.
Speaker A:And yes, you had trans transitioning side, but keep in mind that these batters and bowlers have acquitted themselves fairly in previous series.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean first if you take the experienced players, you know, you know the Colis and Ashwin Jadeja, all those players, we had Bumra too.
Speaker A:So you cannot say that it was an inexperienced team or a fully inexperienced team.
Speaker A:You had all these world class players and then you have the younger players who have, have had good performances.
Speaker A:It was not like their debut series except what even for Washington Sundar, who was actually one of the few players who had a good series.
Speaker A:I guess all of that to say I don't think transitioning side would be a good excuse for that.
Speaker A:You could say, you know, the experienced players were kind of on their way out in the sense of their performances.
Speaker A:They're not at their best anymore.
Speaker A:They're past their peak or past their prime.
Speaker A:But even with that, I feel like India, this Indian team would have been expected to win the series Even if not 3 nil, they should still have won it.
Speaker A:And so the manner in which they lost and this final score line, it's, it's a hard pill to swallow there.
Speaker A:It's, it's just what it is.
Speaker A:And again that a captain just has to step up and take the blame just as any leader is held accountable for his team or organization's failure.
Speaker A:And you know, you still have a chance at redemption in the next series, even if it's not a home series and even if it is not in a country that you've always succeeded at.
Speaker A:You go to Australia, it's a country where India has won their last two tours and you still have some of the best players at your disposal.
Speaker A:But of course Rohit is unavailable for the first and then when he does come back into the side, he looks woefully out of touch and gets out cheaply.
Speaker A:So putting those two series together.
Speaker B:It.
Speaker A:In a way it is unfair that you'd probably be remembered as captain for those two series and especially the New Zealand series that's just going to stick around for a while.
Speaker A:It'll take some time for it to fade away from our memories and I think it's sad.
Speaker A:But at the same time, he also wasn't captain for a very long time, which Is why when you have that short of a sample size you're, you're oh, this will stick out.
Speaker A:So taking that into account, I think his captain c tenure.
Speaker A:First of all, I always feel that Virat Kohli should have stayed honest as captain.
Speaker A:Why he did not.
Speaker A:Was it down to his personal, you know, ego where he was just offended or hurt that he wasn't.
Speaker A:Consider he was removed from the limited overs or that's what we all think, most of us think was the case and he stepped down or if the Indian cricket board was just like, yeah, we need, you know, consistency.
Speaker A:We just need one captain for all formats.
Speaker A:I just feel Virat Kohli, the Test skipper was just the, the man for Indian cricket at that time.
Speaker A:But Roy did a fairly decent job of continuing, you know, picking up from Kohli and still, you know, Indian team was still putting up good performances.
Speaker A:Overall he stepped in and did his job well.
Speaker A:I don't necessarily think he did anything outstanding or something extraordinary.
Speaker A:He just didn't drop the ball till the New Zealand series says so.
Speaker A:Overall I think he was a good captain.
Speaker A:I wouldn't say he was great and I think he had his moments.
Speaker B:But yeah, I, I think that's fair.
Speaker B:Sorry, go ahead.
Speaker A:No, I was just gonna say that I, I just cannot think of something that was the highlight of his test captaincy.
Speaker A:Obviously if we had one, you know, the world is championship final, sorry the world Test championship, you know, the upcoming one that is, it may have been a good way to bookend his career but just like a career, another what if, you know, because India was expected prior to the New Zealand series, were almost considered a shoe in for the final and then just a horror series that completely derailed his captaincy and Indian Test cricket.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:I, I think what's, what's interesting is like the, he obviously did not change a really solid combination for the most part.
Speaker B:So under Kohli we obviously formed a really solid team.
Speaker B:He, he came in, started contributing as opener and, and, and did well.
Speaker B:But one of the things I, I do give credit to the Dravid and Rohit combination was they were always forward looking.
Speaker B:They told Riddhiman Saha that you know, he, you're not going to be part of tests anymore.
Speaker B:Same thing with Ishan Sharma and Omesh Yadav.
Speaker B:Like those players had pretty solid records at home.
Speaker B: Honestly ashant even after: Speaker B:But they realized that they need to look took bold calls and trying somebody like Prasad Krishna.
Speaker B:I think the reason it becomes a little bit challenging to Judge Rohit's legacy as a Test skipper is and as we said, a lot of injuries.
Speaker B:So they were, he would, he would do well in a tour and then next door we're in South Africa and suddenly we have a new skipper because he's not available.
Speaker B:So that inconsistency also plays into it.
Speaker B:And yeah, I definitely don't think he's going to be remembered as a cap great Test captain.
Speaker B:But I will say that the 03 loss to New Zealand could have happened to anybody.
Speaker B:I think India went in with a strategy of really tough tracks.
Speaker B:New Zealand had just the spinners to make the most of it in Satner and and you know, the likes of Glenn Phillips, the likes who bowled a little bit quicker which can be really tough to play.
Speaker B:And that coincided with a series where Jadeja and Ashwin were just off color, you know, just slightly off color.
Speaker B:And that was for to form the perfect storm.
Speaker B:Honestly think that could have happened with any team but, or any captain rather.
Speaker B:But, but yeah, it will certainly be something that he unfortunately remembered for.
Speaker A:And that's why I, I mean that's why I said that, you know, to some extent because who would have expected both Ashwin not to, you know, defend a very proud, you know, record at home or the likes of Virat not to score any, you know, big knocks to bail out the team and or even for Rohit himself to do it himself.
Speaker A:So yeah, I feel bad because ultimately, yeah, even five years, 10 years, you know, when we look back on oh, that whitewash that happened under Rohit the captain, you know, whereas all the other previous Indian captains somehow managed to avoid that and we may not, or at least future generation of fans will forget that India had a very solid team and really even if or three of them stepped up, it could have been avoided.
Speaker A:But that is, that's how history will be written.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:As we wrap up, I think we have to say that, you know, one of the things that we will remember is I'm sure everybody's going to remember this is Rohit the outstanding limited horse player ended up with as many test runs as ravage on the run.
Speaker B: t established himself back in: Speaker B:That will always be sort of the memory of Rohit the test cricketer.
Speaker B:I have no idea whether he has regrets but, but I'm sure his fans certainly do.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I think, I mean I'm sure There will come a time when we will get to discuss his limited over his career, especially in ODIs.
Speaker A:And to me he'll always be a legend in that format.
Speaker A:And along with Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, he'll be one of the all time greats of one day internationals.
Speaker A:And yes, and when you look at that in parallel to his record in Test format, yes, his fans and even in indie cricket fans in general or even just neutral fans who admire all batteries from all countries, you look at it and be like, yeah, he could have, he should have been the kind of player who averages 50 plus and I played 100 tests, a player as skilled and talented as he is.
Speaker A:But yeah, that's, that's the tale of Rohit Sharma's career.
Speaker A:I'm glad at least in the ODI format he's got to essentially show his full range and have a record that many, many batters, you know, young upcoming players all will envy.
Speaker A:But in Test I guess, I guess in the grand scheme of things he'll take it.
Speaker A:You know, he could have just been a player who missed out on Test cricket because of all the abundance of talent that India's had.
Speaker A:But he made the most of it.
Speaker A: ost of his opportunities post: Speaker A:And yes, the disappointments will be there both as captain and as batter on missing out on, you know, many things.
Speaker A:But at the end of the day, that shouldn't take away from what Rohit has been along with Kohli, what they have been for Indian Test, Indian cricket and Test cricket in the past 10 years or so.
Speaker A:But before we do wrap up, there's still one question that remains to be answered.
Speaker A:You know, looking to the future, obviously we discussed potential replacements for Rohit and Kohli, but as of today, we don't know who, we don't know for sure who the next captain is going to be for the Indian Test side.
Speaker A:Do you have any preferences or predictions for how it's all going to end up?
Speaker A:Because I think we're going to know the answer very soon.
Speaker B:I, I personally would like Bumra to be captain.
Speaker B:I, I mean I'm just a big Bum Ra fan, not just the bowler, but I think he's just a very smart guy.
Speaker B:He's always thinking cricketer.
Speaker B:You listen to his interviews and you know, he's like, you know, thinking two steps ahead of everyone.
Speaker B:So I would love for him to be the captain and then somebody like Shubman Gill to be the wise captain because I think there will be Test series, particularly, you know, like the ones in England and Australia where we play five tests where Bumrah might have to rest.
Speaker B:So I think that would be a good way of, you know, having Shubman Gill grow in, into the role and share the responsibility, be among the leadership group while Bumra continues to lead.
Speaker B:That's my take.
Speaker B:I have no idea what, what the chairman of selectors and the BCCI is thinking.
Speaker B:They have been giving mixed signals or at least the reports have been mixed throughout.
Speaker B:So we'll never know.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think there are only three serious candidates at this point.
Speaker A:And outside of the three, like I know there are, KL Rahul was a name that was also thrown up very briefly and who knows, he may still end up being appointed the captain.
Speaker A:But I don't think KL Rahul the captain is a, an option anymore.
Speaker A:I think based on his, I mean, for a variety of reasons, but especially I think he personally is just done with captaincy.
Speaker A:Unless, you know, the allure of captaining like the Indian Test squad, like that's just a whole different thing from captaining a franchise.
Speaker A:I just think as a, he's just more valuable as a batter at this point.
Speaker A:He, he doesn't have an amazing record, but he has the potential to improve.
Speaker A:Which brings me to the three.
Speaker A:And I'll mention Truman Gill first just because I think in a way he's very similar to KL Rahul where he doesn't have an amazing test record just yet.
Speaker A:And you know, you could probably argue the same that he's, you know, he's developing, he's still kind of making a case for himself to be in the Test squad, let alone the Levin.
Speaker A:But to me, I can see why, you know, reports are suggesting that he's probably the strongest candidate at this point and probably will be appointed captain.
Speaker A:I think he's got a case for himself.
Speaker A:But before, before I come to, before I give my personal preference, the other two that I was going to talk about, you mentioned, Jaspreet Bumra.
Speaker A:I think everybody would love to see him as captain.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:That's just the fact he is probably India's best chess player now.
Speaker A:And so, and he's got opportunity to captain.
Speaker A:He's, I think he's impressed people.
Speaker A:But fitness, I mean, it's, it is what it is like you need a player to be fit and available for most, if not all of your, you know, all the tests that India plays.
Speaker A:And the only other option that I can see, given his, you know, his trajectory so far, is that he probably needs to step away from one format like the ODIs or the limited overs to essentially keep his body intact because you can't be on pins and needles.
Speaker A:Like, what if like you know, India make it to the World Test Championship final and now he is just injured.
Speaker A:Like you don't want that kind of hanging over your head.
Speaker A:Which is why I'm slight reservation over appointing Jaspreet Boomera the full time skipper.
Speaker A:I mean your idea sounds good on paper that you know, he could be skipper and then you know, Shipping guild steps in every now and then.
Speaker A:I just don't think that is good from a team morale perspective like, and it's also a recipe for disaster if factions start developing, you know, like the Boomera camp and the Guild camp.
Speaker A:So I think that's, that's going to be the biggest factor.
Speaker A:Now as far as my preference, that comes down to the third person, that is Rishabh Pant.
Speaker A:Now I know people don't really love his captaincy skills and temperament but it's all based off the ipl I feel and I don't think IPL itself should be, you know, the perfect indicator of like his, you know, should he be captain or not?
Speaker A:I think, I mean if you go by that then yes, should be Guild should be a lock in based on how well he's batting and how well Gujarat Titans are doing.
Speaker A:I just think based on Jaspreet Bumra's fitness and based on Gil's, you know, credentials at this point in time it might be a fair bet.
Speaker A:I would bet on Rashad Punt at this point because he is, I think at this point he's number one wicket keeper choice for India.
Speaker A:So it might as well, you know, make him the captain.
Speaker A:He asked captains the experience if Sherman Gill does well in the next year or so, maybe you can look at him as long term captain because it looks like he's going to be the captain in the limited overs format at least.
Speaker A:So I think Gil has it in him to be skipper across all formats eventually.
Speaker A:He just doesn't have the record to back him up in the test format at this point.
Speaker A:And Bumrah is just too fragile and too important for Indian Test cricket, for Indian cricket for that matter.
Speaker A:So I would rather, I would prefer Shant go as captain now.
Speaker A:I don't think he will be because I haven't seen his name mentioned at all in any of the discussions.
Speaker A:So that's my preference prediction is that it just looks like it's going to be close but it looks like based on reports Many people agree with me that Bumra is too fragile and too precious.
Speaker A:That might as well go with a player who's not really established his test credentials yet.
Speaker A:But at least he's young and he can be backed to really gradually improve his test credentials.
Speaker A:So I think it looks like Shubman Gill will most likely be the next captain of the Indian test team.
Speaker B:I was not expecting Pant, but that's an interesting suggestion.
Speaker B:I mean, I would agree that the IPL is not a fair place to think too much about it, but having said that, just with owner pressure and all of that, things are much more complicated at the ipl.
Speaker B:Having said that, I think we've seen enough of him as captain in the IPL where people have noticed like tactical issues.
Speaker B:You know, things that happen in a T20 game are obviously different.
Speaker B:The pace at which it goes is obviously different.
Speaker B:And we saw somebody like Virat Kohli, who's never won the ipl, be one of India's best or probably India's best captain.
Speaker B:So I do want to be careful when we read from the ipl.
Speaker B:But yeah, I don't know if people necessarily think he's the best man manager out in the field.
Speaker A:Well, it's not going to happen anyway.
Speaker B:So it's not going to happen anyways.
Speaker B:But yeah, I do think it's both Gil and Bumrah are fine choices in my mind.
Speaker A:I think Bumrah as captain, Gil as vice captain.
Speaker A:With Gil stepping in for Bumrah when he needs to rest or is injured, I think it's a fair shake and it might very well happen.
Speaker A:But based on reports, it looks like Gil is just going to be appointed captain.
Speaker A:We'll see how true those reports are.
Speaker A:I know with the England tour coming up, we'll know for sure very, very soon and might be a good topic to discuss if it comes to that for another episode.
Speaker A:So we'll wrap it up there.
Speaker A:Mike, thank you so much for your time and for talking about Virat and Kohli over the last two episodes.
Speaker A:I know with the IPL coming to its conclusion, we'll have more to talk about that.
Speaker A:And with the England tour coming soon after, there will be lots more to talk about that.
Speaker A:So we'll try to get some more people to join in on these discussions.
Speaker A:But yeah, to our listeners, thank you for listening.
Speaker A:Do stay tuned for more episodes in the future.
Speaker A:But for now, take care and we'll talk to you soon.
