Aakash Chopra sheds light on Rohit Sharma’s form, reveals changes that have contributed to his lean form

Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has noted that Rohit Sharma has made two changes in his batting, which is playing a major role in his lean patch. Rohit was dismissed after scoring only two runs in the opening ODI against England at Nagpur on Thursday. 

Rohit also could only manage 31 runs in three Test matches against Australia at an average of 6.20. Furthermore, Rohit returned with scores of 3 and 28 in the Ranji Trophy game against Jammu and Kashmir. 

Chopra recalled that Rohit was the highest run-getter against Sri Lanka in the three-match ODI series as he had scored 157 runs but since then the big runs haven’t come from his blade.

“What’s gone wrong with Rohit Sharma? The entire country is worried now because it’s been time. He was India’s highest scorer in the three-match series against Sri Lanka. He was absolutely outstanding. He was batting very well. He was in form and everything was fine,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.

“After that, there has been a nosedive. You remember a second-innings knock in Bengaluru and a short knock in Kanpur, but he hasn’t scored runs apart from that. One thing has changed. Actually, two things have changed, and both are interlinked,” Chopra added.

The renowned commentator feels Rohit Sharma’s aggressive approach is also playing a role in his downfall.

“Before the 2023 World Cup, his strike rate used to be around 90. Now it has gone close to 120. He used to score a lot of centuries then, the conversion of fifties into hundreds was very good, but after that, a lot of fifties but only two centuries,” Chopra observed.

Chopra highlighted that Rohit’s impact point with the ball has changed and the technical fault is not helping him.

“He started to meet the ball far away from his body because if you have to hit in the air, you have to meet the ball slightly far. So, the impact point got changed, and because of that, he has started getting a lot of leading edges,” he said.

Chopra concluded by saying that Rohit does not have control and power in his shots because of the technical change in his batting.

“When the bat goes far, the other side of that is the more the object starts going away from you, the more your control reduces. The closer you keep it to yourself, the more control you will have. The more a heavy object like a hammer in your hand moves away from your body, the lesser will be your power and control. Your hand will start shaking,” Chopra elaborated.

The second ODI between India and England will be played at Cuttack on Sunday.