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Gavaskar praises Rohit Sharma for ditching nets and taking Ranji Trophy challenge to regain form: ‘One mistake, and he…’

Jan 18, 2025 10:29 PM IST

Rohit Sharma announced that he will play the Ranji match against Jammu and Kashmir starting January 23.

Batting great Sunil Gavaskar is elated with Rohit Sharma's decision to make himself available for Mumbai's next Ranji Trophy match. During the press conference for the squad announcement for the Champions Trophy, Rohit announced that he will play the Ranji match against Jammu and Kashmir starting January 23. The swashbuckling opener endured a tough last few months in red-ball cricket as he struggled with the bat against New Zealand and Australia, resulting in series losses for India.

Mumbai: Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma bats during a practice session of Mumbai's Ranji Trophy team, at Wankhade Stadium.(PTI)
Mumbai: Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma bats during a practice session of Mumbai's Ranji Trophy team, at Wankhade Stadium.(PTI)

During the Australia tour, he managed only 31 runs in five innings across three Tests. This followed a lean patch at home in the 2023-24 season, where he averaged just 13.30 in ten innings against Bangladesh and New Zealand.

Gavaskar, who advised the Indian batters to play domestic failure after the BGT debacle, was impressed with Rohit's decision and said playing a competitive match is better than net practice.

"Yes, it's a good thing because, look, he didn't get runs in Australia, so he knows he needs to spend time out in the middle. How much net practice you have or however many throwdowns you face, batting in a game, feeling the ball in the middle of the bat, knowing that a mistake will send you back to the pavilion, and then still scoring runs is a big, big difference," Sunil Gavaskar told India Today.

The batting legend emphasised how batting in the nest sometimes doesn't help the batter regain form as there isn't the same pressure.

“In the nets, you could get out caught 20 times, but you can still bat for 20 or 40 minutes. You keep getting dismissed in the nets. That practice isn't good because there's no pressure to bat well or protect your wicket. In a match, that pressure is real,” he added.

'I'm very happy to see that Rohit Sharma…'

He further emphasised that when a player moves to side nets right after getting out in the match, it doesn't really help that much.

"So what can happen and what should happen is if if you don't get runs, then, you know. To the net next door because every ground now does not have nets on the ground, but next to the ground there are nets, so you fail with the bat in a match, go into the nets and have that practice, get that rhythm going, but nothing like playing in a match. I'm very happy to see that Rohit Sharma has said that he is going to play in the Trophy," Gavaskar added.

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ICC Champions Trophy , ICC Champions Trophy Schedule , and Champions Trophy 2025 Points Table – stay ahead with real-time match updates, team standings, and insights. Check live cricket score , player stats, and ICC rankings of top players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli . Get expert analysis, match previews, and in-depth coverage of ICC CT 2025, IPL 2025 Schedule and IPL 2025, all on HT Crickit, powered by Hindustan Times – your trusted source for cricket news.
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