Rohit Sharma’s masterful 121* in Sydney was a throwback to his 2019 World Cup vintage, watchful early, ruthless later, and utterly in control. At 38, the former India captain showed he still has the hunger and fitness to chase another World Cup dream in 2027.
This version of Rohit Sharma had disappeared for a while, by his own design.
Walk out, hit the ball, derail the opponent, and return home. That’s been Rohit Sharma’s life in ODI cricket over the past four years.
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Since taking over as captain and experiencing the pain of the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final, Rohit decided that playing safe in the powerplay was not the way to go. Rohit eliminated the fear of failure, and at 36, when most senior players decided to play it safe, he took on the onus of scoring fast at the top upon himself.
Rohit’s approach, which allowed the rest of the batting line-up to play their natural game without pressure, brought unprecedented success to India in white-ball cricket.
But in doing so, he lost a part of his old self, the patient accumulator who once built innings with effortless grace.
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