Hyderabad: 

Rohit Sharma's disastrous form with the bat continued as the India captain managed two runs off seven balls in the first ODI against England at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium here on Thursday, February 6.

Playing his first ODI at home since the 2023 World Cup where he left everyone in awe with his beautiful stokeplay and aggressive batting, Rohit struggled to time the ball and eventually gave a sitter on a ball he used to deliver into the stand once. He spooned an easy catch to mid-on as he attempted to whip an inswinger off his legs but got the toe-end off the bat.

After this yet another failure at the international level, fans went berserk all over the internet in disappointment and demanded to retire from cricket.

Earlier, in the pre-match press conference, Rohit took an exception to questions on his recent poor form and tried to ridicule the questioner despite knowing the fact that runs haven't come from his bat since the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2024 final. He failed against New Zealand at home and in Australia. Notably, he opted out from the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series citing his poor form.

"What kind of a question is that? This is a different format, different times. As cricketers, we know that there will be ups and downs and I have faced a lot in my career so this is nothing new to me. We know every day is a fresh day, every series is a fresh series," Rohit had said when asked about his poor run at the international level.

He went on to add that he was looking forward to batting in the ODI series and not dwelling on his recent failures in Test cricket. "So yeah, I'm looking forward to the challenge, not looking at what has happened in the past. So obviously for me, there is no reason to look behind too much. A lot of good things have happened as well, so it's important that I focus on what is coming up and what lies ahead for me and it is as simple as that, look to try and start the series on a high. Let's see what happens," said Rohit

On Thursday, he was unable to perform and exited quietly. His failure to score before the Champions Trophy heightens concerns about his poor form.

Rohit Sharma in 2024/25 season across formats
6
5
23
8
2
52
0
8
18
11
3
6
10
3
9
2
16 inngs | 166 runs | Avg 10.37

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