Rohit Sharma was once touted as the next Sachin Tendulkar by his Deccan Chargers teammate Scott Styris, but a slew of disappointing performances by the young player led to his ouster from the India team.
Sharma however, is looking to stake his claims again, and on Thursday, stroked his way to a patient 101 against Railways in their Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match at the Karnail Singh Stadium to provide Mumbai with the vital first innings lead here on Thursday.
Sharma’s hundred came in 214 balls."The wicket was not easy to bat on as the ball was keeping really low. I just wanted to get acclimatised to the conditions and demands of the pitch and then play my game. Thankfully. my plan worked," he said later.
Sharma’s ton steadied Mumbai, who were tottering at 161/7, and helped them to a first innings lead of 97 runs. Asked whether this knock was a signal to the selectors, he said,"I don’t want to send any message to anyone. Playing on this pitch was a challenge for me and I managed to face it."
He also expressed the hope that this knock would silence the people who considered him to be a batsman suitable for the shortest format of the game.
The youngster, who claimed a hat-trick in the Indian Premier League this season against the Mumbai Indians, is focusing on improving his bowling skills in a bid to make a comeback to the national fold.
"I am taking my bowling very seriously because I want to be a good all-rounder."
Sharma has been criticised for his inability to face short pitched deliveries in the past, but he himself has a different view. "If you see the videos of our World Twenty20 matches, you will find that I didn’t get out to short-pitched deliveries. I feel that there is nothing wrong with my technique."