The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Rohit Sharma all set to move forward

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Rohit Sharma all set to move forward

V.V. Subrahmanyam

— FILE PHOTO

Rohit Sharma.

HYDERABAD: His is one of the noteworthy success stories of the on-going DLF-Indian Premier League. He combines technical exactitude with amazing strokeplay. And, his achievements should be great news not just for his franchisee, Deccan Chargers, but also for Indian cricket.

The 21-year-old Rohit Sharma, who made a big impact as a member of the ICC World Twenty20 winning squad, and then shared that crucial partnership with his illustrious Mumbai teammate Sachin Tendulkar in the first final of the CB Series in Australia recently, is now all set to move forward and establish himself as a regular in the National squad. With 337 runs from 11 IPL games, including 33 fours and 15 sixes, Rohit is the fourth highest run-getter after Gautam Gambhir (504 from 12), Virender Sehwag (385 from 12) and Shane Watson (352 from 11) (as on May 20).

Rohit believes that the reason for his success is that he tries to keep his batting simple. “I just shut myself out from the rest of the world when I go out to bat. I try to be calm and play my natural game. This has become my approach over the years,” he said in a chat with The Hindu.

Further improvement

“In the next few games, I will try to improve further. I don’t believe anyone is a perfect cricketer. You have to keep adapting to the different formats,” said Rohit. “By playing along with Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs and Andrew Symonds, I learnt many things,” he said. Rohit believes that IPL could well be the turning point of his career. “It helps me look ahead. Whenever you do well in a particular series your confidence level goes up. IPL came at the right time (for me),” he added.

When asked what his next target is, he said: “My aim is to do well in Test cricket first and then try to be successful in all three formats. I feel that a great cricketer is one who is successful in Tests,” he said. “Till now I am happy with whatever has happened. I want to continue the good work. Obviously, getting compliments from Sachin Tendulkar was a great feeling.”

The big partnership with Tendulkar in the CB Series first final at SCG was an experience he will always cherish. “I was happy that it came at a when the team needed it most,” he said.

About playing with the Australians, he said: “They are friendly in nature but when you are playing against them they are charged up and will come at you. But, in the IPL they are of great help. I learnt a few fielding tips from Symonds and Gibbs. And, as cricketers, they are brilliant,” he concluded.

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