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Sunil Gavaskar believes Rohit Sharma would be much better served playing matches than net sessions.
Sunil Gavaskar (R) and Rohit Sharma (L)
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar is ‘very happy’ that Rohit Sharma will return to Ranji Trophy action this season. Gavaskar said the Indian captain understands that he needs to spend some time on the pitch, adding that match practice is much better than net sessions to get back into form.
Rohit scored 31 runs in five innings in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He then dropped himself for the final Test in Sydney, citing poor form. Since coming back, he was seen practicing with the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team and doing some sprinting sessions near the Wankhede Stadium.
“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.
“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.
“So what can happen and what should happen is 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.
Rohit last played in the Ranji Trophy in 2015 for Mumbai against Uttar Pradesh. He confirmed his availability for Mumbai’s upcoming match against Jammu and Kashmir at the Wankhede on January 23 in India’s press conference to announce squads for the upcoming ODI series against England and the 2025 Champions Trophy.
