From Crutches to Double Century: Rohit Sharma’s Massive 2017

He started 2017 on crutches and ended it as one of his most memorable years in international cricket.

Rohit Sharma couldn’t have asked for a better year to turn things around.

(Photo: BCCI)

Rohit Sharma couldn’t have asked for a better year to turn things around. He started 2017 on crutches, and ended it by making it one of the most memorable years in his decade-long international cricket.

This year has redefined his career and launched Rohit Sharma version 2.0.

It was the sort of year where only the momentous form of Virat Kohli could keep Rohit’s story under warps. Virat got 1,460 runs in 2017 at a phenomenal average of 76.85. During the same period, Rohit played five matches less than his captain and scored 1,293 runs at an average of 71.83. (Rohit missed out on the One Day series against England towards the start of the season due to injury.)

This year, Rohit has made massive towers in batting pie charts with six ODIs, one T20 and one Test century.

But then came the series against Sri Lanka where Rohit couldn’t do anything wrong. He started it by making the most of rare chances in Test Cricket by scoring a stroke full hundred in Nagpur, and then got a vital fifty in Delhi to increase happy headaches for the team management. Looking at the ominous form of Rohit, the tour selection committee will find it extremely difficult to keep him out of the playing eleven for India’s first 2018 Test in Cape Town.

Uncertain Beginnings

Going back to the beginning of 2017, Rohit was dealing with loads of uncertainty, and the long road to recovery and comeback. Often, these routes are lonely and full of doubts. He had two high level torn muscles in his thigh and needed surgery. One of the experts dealing with the injury said, “Every injury in a sportsman’s life can alter his career. This injury may not be ‘career-threatening’, but was ‘career-affecting’ for sure.”

This injury was touching two primary functions that are most important to athletes – running and stretching.

Rohit Sharma had to reinvest in the natural process of crawling to walking to running and then batting.

Injuries can have a strange kind of impact on the mindset of the player. It’s a forced break that pushes them to think deep and realign their game, and more importantly, the mindset around it.

As Rohit himself would say, "For me, I'm glad that I'm back on my feet, because when I went through that injury, at one point, I thought whether I'll be able to walk or not, because the injury was terrible. I'm lucky that I'm on my feet, playing and scoring some runs, so yes, I'm happy. I'm not someone who will think about what has happened in the past. I like to see what is in front of me, and yes, that is how I look at it.

"When I was inexperienced, when I just came into the team, there were a lot of things that I used to think about, but not anymore. I've passed that age where I shouldn't think about what has happened in the past. I should be ready for what is coming next, because that's what matters. What has happened in the past is gone, you can never change it.

Happy Frame of Mind

His current form also defines one thing about Rohit – he's in a happy frame of mind, and characters like this will always perform when they are happy, secure, and feel essential within the setup. A lot of credit goes to the team management for creating this environment for Rohit.

Nobody has ever doubted the ability of the Hitman. The only man to have three double hundred and a record-equaling second hundred in T20 cricket proves his appetite and aptitude to score big. On song, Rohit is one of the most mesmerising murderers of bowlers. He is shredding them into pieces, and they are silently admiring his ability and sublime touch.

The timing of Rohit’s purple patch couldn’t have been better. This is the time when Indian cricket would need every ounce of his talent, energy and leadership. India’s overseas challenge is about to begin, and Rohit – the clinical oppressor of bowling attacks – would be an ideal man to match fire with fire.

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