Gavaskar applauds Rohit Sharma for foregoing practice sessions and opting for Ranji Trophy challenge to regain form: ‘He needs to…’

Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has expressed his joy over Rohit Sharma's decision to play in Mumbai's upcoming Ranji Trophy match. Rohit, who had a tough time in red-ball cricket recently, has decided to make himself available for the match against Jammu and Kashmir starting on January 23. Despite facing challenges while batting against New Zealand and Australia, Rohit's commitment to playing in the domestic tournament is commendable. Gavaskar believes that this decision will not only benefit Rohit's form but also contribute to Mumbai's success in the tournament.

During the Australia tour, he managed only 31 runs in five innings across three Tests. This followed a lean patch at home in the 2023-24 season, where he averaged just 13.30 in ten innings against Bangladesh and New Zealand.

Gavaskar, who advised the Indian batters to play domestic failure after the BGT debacle, was impressed with Rohit's decision and said playing a competitive match is better than net practice.

"Yes, it's a good thing because, look, he didn't get runs in Australia, so he knows he needs to spend time out in the middle. How much net practice you have or however many throwdowns you face, batting in a game, feeling the ball in the middle of the bat, knowing that a mistake will send you back to the pavilion, and then still scoring runs is a big, big difference," Sunil Gavaskar told India Today.

The batting legend emphasised how batting in the nest sometimes doesn't help the batter regain form as there isn't the same pressure.

“In the nets, you could get out caught 20 times, but you can still bat for 20 or 40 minutes. You keep getting dismissed in the nets. That practice isn't good because there's no pressure to bat well or protect your wicket. In a match, that pressure is real,” he added.

'I'm very happy to see that Rohit Sharma…'

He further emphasised that when a player moves to side nets right after getting out in the match, it doesn't really help that much.

"So what can happen and what should happen is if if you don't get runs, then, you know. To the net next door because every ground now does not have nets on the ground, but next to the ground there are nets, so you fail with the bat in a match, go into the nets and have that practice, get that rhythm going, but nothing like playing in a match. I'm very happy to see that Rohit Sharma has said that he is going to play in the Trophy," Gavaskar added.

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