The lazy elegance of Rohit Sharma

By Arre Bench


When you think Rohit Sharma, you think lazy elegance. At his best, his feet move like a ballerina dancer’s. On a bad day, he looks like a non-dancer at garba.

It’s been a great week for the Sharmas. Anushka got married, Rohit scored a double hundred. The pressure is rising on everyone else as Sharma ji ke bete and betiyan keep setting unrealistic goals. Discovery Science claimed that the Ram Setu could be man-made; perhaps it was formed by the cricket balls that landed in the Indian Ocean as Rohit Sharma thumped his favourite whipping boys, the Sri Lankans. This is, after all, his second double century — he’s scored three so far — against the Lankans in ODIs.

When you think Rohit Sharma, you think lazy elegance. Aesthetically, he is one of the most beautiful batsmen to watch. At his best, his feet move like a ballerina dancer’s. On a bad day, he looks like a non-dancer at garba. At times, he’s so laid-back that you are angry at the manner he throws his wicket away. But those days of being mocked for merely being a “talent” are now behind Rohit Sharma. From a bozo he has now turned into beast, a colossal one, of shorter formats.

Along with a lazy kind of grace, that would make VVS Laxman proud, Rohit Sharma possesses hitting ability that puts him in the league of Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, and David Warner. His acceleration in the death overs could make the Bitcoin price rise look pale. As a fairly mellow operator at the start of the innings, Rohit Sharma has the capacity to explode in a way that Kim Jong-un hopes his next missile fires. He seems to have finally found consistency, the quality that has long eluded his cricket career.

Rohit scored his first 100 runs in 115 balls, but it took him merely 36 balls to get to the next hundred. If one were to use a metaphor for his innings, it would be the movie Baahubali. It is a regular watch up to the interval, but then it suddenly starts to escalate as our hitman finds his sheen and starts destroying the opponent.

When it comes to Rohit Sharma, it isn’t just raw muscle power of the kind on display by the likes of Chris Gayle or Kieron Pollard. His stroke play is centred around neat footwork, wrists of steel, and exquisite timing of the cricket ball. To match his lazy demeanour, here’s an old cricket cliche: “At the end of the innings, he’s watching it like a football.” When Rohit Sharma is on song, the only thing you can do is marvel — whether you’re a bowler, fielder, or just a fan of the game.


This article was originally published in Arre
Featured image credits: Arre