India captain Rohit Sharma failed on his Ranji Trophy comeback as he got dismissed cheaply against Jammu & Kashmir on Thursday, January 23 Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy BKC, Mumbai. Rohit was dismissed for 3 (19) by Umar Nazir Mir and failed to impress on his return to India’s premier domestic first-class competition.
Rohit’s Ranji comeback was eagerly anticipated by his fans and pundits after he confirmed his availability to play for Mumbai. However, the opening batter didn’t look comfortable at all at the crease playing and missing a number of deliveries. The opening batter looked desperate to get some bat on the ball as he chased after a few wide deliveries as well.
His struggling knock ended on 3 (19) as he got a leading edge while trying to pull Umar Nazir Mir and got caught inside the circle. As a result, Rohit didn’t have a memorable return to Ranji Trophy leaving Mumbai reeling after captain Ajinkya Rahane opted to bat first.
Earlier, Yashasvi Jaiswal also departed cheaply, getting dismissed for 4 (8) as he got caught behind against Auqib Nabi Dar. Both openers returned to the pavilion, leaving the defending champions on 12/2 after 5.5 overs as Ajinkya Rahane walked in to join Hardik Tamore at the crease.
Rohit made himself available for Ranji Trophy following new directives by the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) which has made it mandatory for players to participate in domestic cricket while not on national duty. The India captain has been in poor form in the longest format of late as he scored 619 runs from 14 matches (26 innings) at an average of 24.76 with two hundreds and as many fifties.
He recently scored just one half century in India’s nine-match-long Test season and even dropped himself from the playing XI for the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney. Hence, Rohit will be eager to find his form back ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 set to begin from February 19.
Source: India Today