Rohit not ready to accept his �talented� tag

AGENCIES, MUMBAI: India batsman Rohit Sharma has railed against the popular perception that he isn’t making best use of his abundant natural talent, saying that he has got where he is through sheer hard work. Rohit said that the widespread opinion about him was “unfair and wrong.” “People say, ‘Boss, this guy is gifted and he can do this and he can do that.’ But nobody knows what happens behind the scenes,” Rohit told DNA. “Nobody knows about the hard work that’s been put in.
“This ‘talent’ talk has messed things up for me. I started my career as a bowler. I was never a batsman. All this natural talent, god’s gift that you guys in the media talk and write about is unfair and wrong. I have worked on my batting to get here. I used to bat at No. 8. From there, I made my way up. Ask my coach, Dinesh Lad, and he will tell you that I was an offspinner.
“Whatever I have achieved is because of my hard work. All these terms like ‘lazy elegance’ have been coined by you guys. Maybe on TV it comes across like that, but that’s not the right way to judge anyone. One must get to the root of the matter. I became a serious batsman during my under-17 days. I broke the middle finger of my right hand during a 50-over match against the visiting Sri Lankans in 2005. It was difficult for me to grip the ball after that injury. That’s how I became a regular batsman.”
Rohit made his Test debut in the home series against West Indies in November 2013, having already played 108 ODIs since June 2007. He began with two hundreds in his first two innings, but has not scored one in 23 innings since. Rohit has 870 runs at an average of 37 in 14 Tests so far. “Honestly, as a batsman, there is a lot more I have to do,” he said. “That’s very, very clear to me. Fourteen Test matches is nothing. I have nothing great in Test cricket. This is just the start. In ODI cricket, yes, I know have done well, especially after becoming an opener.”
Elaborating on that dismissal, Rohit said it had come about because he had not played his natural game. “Just before I got out on 79, I told (Wriddhiman) Saha, ‘Partner, you know what, the light is fading and I think this is going to be the last over. Let’s just play out this over and come back tomorrow.’ The idea was to just to block those six balls and get back into the dressing room. But I ended up making a big mistake. I thought hard about survival. And what did I do by doing that? I forgot about my natural game, which is anything but blocking the ball. So, I got out because I did something completely different. “I was thinking of stumps, staying not out and going to the dressing room. I was over-cautious instead of being just me. The moral of the story is: Do not tweak your natural game.”

 

Rohit not ready to accept his �talented� tag

AGENCIES, MUMBAI: India batsman Rohit Sharma has railed against the popular perception that he isnt making best use of his abundant natural talent, saying that he has got where he is through sheer hard work. Rohit said that the widespread opinion about him was unfair and wrong. People say, Boss, this guy is gifted and he can do this and he can do that. But nobody knows what happens behind the scenes, Rohit told DNA. Nobody knows about the hard work thats been put in. This talent talk has messed things up for me. I started my career as a bowler. I was never a batsman. All this natural talent, gods gift that you guys in the media talk and write about is unfair and wrong. I have worked on my batting to get here. I used to bat at No. 8. From there, I made my way up. Ask my coach, Dinesh Lad, and he will tell you that I was an offspinner. Whatever I have achieved is because of my hard work. All these terms like lazy elegance have been coined by you guys. Maybe on TV it comes across like that, but thats not the right way to judge anyone. One must get to the root of the matter. I became a serious batsman during my under-17 days. I broke the middle finger of my right hand during a 50-over match against the visiting Sri Lankans in 2005. It was difficult for me to grip the ball after that injury. Thats how I became a regular batsman. Rohit made his Test debut in the home series against West Indies in November 2013, having already played 108 ODIs since June 2007. He began with two hundreds in his first two innings, but has not scored one in 23 innings since. Rohit has 870 runs at an average of 37 in 14 Tests so far. Honestly, as a batsman, there is a lot more I have to do, he said. Thats very, very clear to me. Fourteen Test matches is nothing. I have nothing great in Test cricket. This is just the start. In ODI cricket, yes, I know have done well, especially after becoming an opener. Elaborating on that dismissal, Rohit said it had come about because he had not played his natural game. Just before I got out on 79, I told (Wriddhiman) Saha, Partner, you know what, the light is fading and I think this is going to be the last over. Lets just play out this over and come back tomorrow. The idea was to just to block those six balls and get back into the dressing room. But I ended up making a big mistake. I thought hard about survival. And what did I do by doing that? I forgot about my natural game, which is anything but blocking the ball. So, I got out because I did something completely different. I was thinking of stumps, staying not out and going to the dressing room. I was over-cautious instead of being just me. The moral of the story is: Do not tweak your natural game.