TESTING TIMES FOR THE SKIPPER

It's fascinating to attend Rohit Sharma's press conferences. There is a sprinkling of humour, some wit; usually the answers are straightforward and as gripping as his batting in full flow.

- GOMESH S

If it is pleasing to the eyes on the field, it's pleasing to the ears in the conference hall. Somehow that aura was missing when he walked in after losing the fourth Test match in Melbourne at the end of last year. He was not his usual self. Something was eating him from within. His batting had hit the nadir, scoring only 31 runs in five innings.

One can safely say, the flamboyance was missing from both on and off the field. It was absolutely unlike Rohit who is liked by most in the dressing room. Yet in all these difficult times it was he who acknowledged that he knew something was missing from his batting. He admitted as much after the Melbourne defeat. "A lot of the things that I am trying to do are not falling in the place that I would want to. But mentally, look, you know, it is disturbing without a doubt," he had said.

The rumour mills started working rather insidiously. Finally, the drama that was played over the five days amidst discussions of various permutations and combinations, Rohit finally spoke on Saturday.