From boy to man: Dinesh Lad on the evolution of Rohit Sharma the batsman

Dinesh Lad has played a big hand in hunting talent from Mumbai’s school cricket circuit and has coached many prominent players by providing exposure to their raw potential. One of the most successful disciples of Lad happens to be none other than India’s star opening batsman Rohit Sharma, who currently stands third and sixth in the ICC Men’s rankings for ODIs and Tests respectively. 

“When he was in ninth grade, he scored some 20-22 hundreds for his school in the span of two years. At that period matches were played for 45 overs, and his highest scores used to be in the 130-140 range. In the three-day matches also he would score a hundred and I was so dependent on him as he single-handedly won us matches,” Lad told SportsCafe. 

It has been a decade and a half since the Mumbai Indians skipper sharpened his skills under the tutelage of Lad, and the Mumbaikar’s childhood coach revealed that he seldom discusses cricket technique with the Indian limited-overs vice-captain. Lad revealed that, whenever Rohit is in need of wisdom, he often resolves it with minimal advice.

“Basically, we don’t speak much on technique, since he has evolved himself a lot from 2011 where he has scored 27 hundreds, 10 in Tests (Rohit has 7 Test hundreds). The only thing I keep mentioning to him is that 'the more you stay on the crease the better you will perform' since it is very hard to dismiss him unless he gets himself out,” the coach admitted. 

“Why, why, why? That’s an unbelievable shot. That’s an irresponsible shot. There’s a fielder there at long-on, there’s a fielder there at deep square leg. What a waste of a wicket. This is Test match cricket. You have to start, you have to convert it into a big hundred particularly when the opposition has 369,” Gavaskar had commented on Channel Seven.

Lad admitted that Rohit, every now and then, has the tendency to throw his wicket away callously, and, pointing to the right-hander’s knocks against England, stressed that the opener is at his supreme best when he deploys and puts to use the solid defensive game he possesses.

Rohit struggled in his early Test days when he batted in the middle-order, where he averaged 39.62 batting between #3 and #6, but has been a revelation as an opener. In just 17 innings he’s amassed 1030 runs at an average of 64.37, laced by four centuries, and has stamped his authority to the extent that he is now widely regarded as one of the best openers in the world.

Lad credited the opener’s promotion as a major reason behind his transformation with the bat in Test cricket. 

At home Rohit has passed the Anderson, Broad and Rabada tests, but now, awaiting him is arguably the toughest challenge of his career (as an opener) yet - the vicious swing of Trent Boult. Despite not having played in England previously, Rohit has a questionable record overseas, and his away average of 27.00 has, to date, continued to put a cloud over his achievements. 

But contrary to popular opinion, Lad believes that Rohit will fend off the Boult threat with ease. Rohit nullified Cummins in Australia and played the number one bowler with relative ease, and Lad backed his ward to overcome the Boult challenge.