Rohit Sharma has been reminded,these last couple of weeks,that there is life beyond that astonishing pick up shot that he so routinely,and so easily,deposits into the stands at mid-wicket. Just as,eventually,the rude,unkempt purveyors of vile language will discover that there is a world beyond being an mtv Roadie! Unless of course you choose to limit yourself,like fundamendalists do,to a specific way of life! It is a call that Rohit Sharma and others like Suresh Raina must take. Do they want to make T20 their universe,exist as a series of short,incandescent bursts,where failure is frequented as often as success? Or do they want to take their extraordinary ability towards other horizons? It is not as easy a decision as it seems for sooner or later they will be confronted by that enemy of ambition the comfort factor. A sharp fast bowler who makes life uncomfortable can only come at you for 12 balls,or maybe even six (notice how T20 is slowly replacing the word over). There are always a couple of bowlers you can punish. And forty five minutes is about as long an innings will last. It requires a different skill and as we have seen over the last two months,not everyone is possessed of it. But because you only need to exhibit it for a short while,it is likely to breed greater competition. Soon other hordes will come in,attracted ironically by players like Sharma and Raina,and they could easily slip into the world of the disposable celebrity that film and television knows so well. Alternately they could extend their basket of offerings by swaying from,or punching,the short-pitched ball,by bending low and sniffing the turner,by making friends with patience,by embracing a different definition of risk. Indeed,by accepting the fact that the bowler they are uncomfortable against might come at them for eight overs. And then maybe they will go beyond and seek a world where they will have to bat for a day. Sharma is the more infuriating of the two for he can be breathtaking and almost everything he does suggests that he can be more versatile. Yet,after 39 games he has scored a mere 684 @25.33 (as opposed to an average of 34 from 13 T20 internationals),numbers that do his ability no justice at all. And at a time when he should have been demanding the number three slot for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy opted to come down at number five. For someone who seems keen to take up a challenge it was a strange decision. If he fancies himself at the top of the order he must play there as often as possible. This is the year in which he must make it happen. He has a lot of quality cricket ahead of him with the Champions Trophy,the Champions League and seven one-day games against Australia. He must erase the question marks he has put ahead of himself and embrace consistency. Otherwise he will remain infuriating and breathtaking. Suresh Raina has a more pedigreed record in one-day cricket; 1558 runs at 35.4 from 65 matches. Part of the reason is that he appropriated the number three slot but it is a position that brings him fresh challenges. Word has long gone around the cricket world that he dislikes the short pitched ball. In truth,no one really likes it but,as with pesky neighbours,people make peace with it. Raina seems to be a target rather than an adversary for the bouncer at the moment. The off-season,or whatever there is of it,is a great time to find out what is the best way to deal with it because he will get plenty of it in the next few months. Talking of the next few months,I have just made a list of the test matches and one-day internationals India have played at home since 2005. Of the 90 internationals played in that period,the Eden Gardens has hosted four. It must never be like that. Some grounds,like some cricketers,are special. It is a pity that we seek to equate the Eden Gardens with Jamshedpur,Rajkot,Guwahati,Goa and Vadodara who have hosted an equal number of one-dayers. Kochi has hosted one more and Ahmedabad,courtesy the Champions Trophy,has hosted seven one-day games to go with two Tests. We cant be serious. Pity.
