Border-Gavaskar Trophy | Pressure mounts on faltering Rohit Sharma

Poor personal form and four straight losses as a skipper have mounted immense pressure on the Indian Test skipper

Adelaide: The Adelaide Oval wore a sombre look on Tuesday morning, a day after the second Test finished inside three days. The sun seemed harsh for that time of the day but a pleasant breeze from across River Torrens was soothing. 

A lone security personnel was manning the South Gate entrance while a few young Indian fans, in blue jerseys, were loitering around the pick-up/drop zone on the War Memorial Road, hoping for a selfie or an autograph. That was the only sign to know that the Indian cricketers were holding the "nets" on the day. 

Inside, an uneasy calm prevailed throughout the two-hour red-ball session which saw most of the players take part in the proceedings. While the players didn't appear all gloomy, the usual banter and chirping were conspicuous by its absence, perhaps reflecting the fresh wounds of the defeat. That not many of them entertained fans' requests held a mirror to their moods.       

Pace merchants Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, understandably, restricted themselves to workouts in the gym as the focus remained firmly on the batters with Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant constantly switching "nets" to face different sets of bowlers -- pace, spin and throwdowns.      

Two of those -- Kohli and Rohit -- have particularly come under the scanner in the last couple of days. The two most experienced batters in the side posted a combined score of 27 runs in the pink-ball Test as India came up with a disappointing batting display in both innings. Kohli, with a century in the Perth Test, may have bought some breathing space, but pressure is mounting on Rohit. That India have lost four Tests in a row under his captaincy has only complicated matters for him.

When the team is winning, the captain's underformance gets masked or even overlooked. When the captain is performing and the team is losing, the criticism is laced with sympathy. But if both the captain and the team are on a downward spiral, it's an unenviable situation to be in.

The 37-year-old had even sacrificed his opening position in the second Test in order to let an in-form Rahul, who was solid in Perth, continue batting in the top two. That arrangement, Rohit believed, was in the best interest of the team while dropping down to No. 6. However, neither batter could make any meaningful contribution.

Come to think of it, Rohit has been on a prolonged lean patch, having managed just one fifty in his last 12 innings (6, 5, 23, 8, 2, 52, 0, 8, 18, 11, 3, & 6) while only on three other occasions he has reached double digits.

Runs from Rohit at the top have often set the winning tempo for India ever since he was promoted up the order in 2019. The numbers reveal his form is directly proportional to India's fortunes.  

In 37 Tests that he has opened from five years ago, India have won 23 of them. Rohit's contribution in them has been 1986 runs at an average of 56.74 with nine hundreds and three fifties. 

During the same period, India have lost on 10 occasions with his performance dipping alarmingly -- 401 runs in 20 innings at a meagre average of 20.05. And in four drawn matches, he has posted 298 runs at nearly 50.

Former India coach and commentator Ravi Shastri found a co-relation between Rohit's lack of runs and defensive captaincy.  

"Thought he was a little too subdued, just seeing his body language," Shastri Star Sports.

"That's the reason I want him at the top. That's where he can be aggressive and expressive... I just wanted to see him more involved, and a little more animated."

While it will be interesting to see what the right-hander decides, he has to deliver wherever comes in to bat lest his position in the team may become untenable.