There’s no hiding from the fact that Rohit Sharma is struggling – both as batter and captain. But on the one hand, where the world is rallying behind him to come out of this prolonged slump with a blaze of glory, former South Africa batter Daryll Cullinan has launched a scathing attack on the India captain, calling him ‘overweight’ and a ‘flat track bully’. Cullinan, known as one of South Africa’s most gifted batters – against pace and spin – reckons Rohit’s physical condition is nowhere close to that of an international cricketer, which makes him a liability on the entire team.
Under Rohit, India have lost their last four Tests – three at home against New Zealand and last week against Australia in Perth. What makes Rohit’s situation even worse is his own form, which reads an abysmal 142 runs in the last six Tests at a woeful average of 11.83. Weighing in on Rohit’s struggles, Cullinan minced no words, declaring that the Indian captain is in no physical shape to play at the top level.
“You look at Rohit, and you look at Virat [Kohli]. Look at their physical condition. Rohit’s overweight. He is not a long-term cricketer anymore. What I’m saying is that the hard grind of Test cricket – 4-5 Test matches – Rohit’s not in good physical condition. Look at Virat, and a lot of these other Indian players. I’ll say it again. Rohit’s best at home but I just wonder if it’s not going to backfire on India because they went in with [pretty much] the same team in the 2nd Test,” Cullinan told InsideSport.
‘Look at this record outside India’, says Cullinan
Pointing out a stark difference in Rohit’s records at home and overseas, Cullins reckons the 37-year-old is only effective in India. Out of the 65 Tests Rohit has played, 29 have come away from home, where his number read 1622 runs at an average of 32.44, with a best of 127 against England at The Oval. In ODIs, too, out of the 10,866 runs Rohit has scored, only 3703 have been outside India. Of course, he has played fewer matches, too – 115 compared to 150 at home, but an average of 39.91 puts more light on Cullinan’s theory.
“I think Rohit is a flat-track bully. Let’s look at his record outside of India. Every time he’s been to South Africa, you clearly get the feeling that he doesn’t like the short ball. The fact that he’s now back in the middle order… he’s an opener. He must come and lead from the front, especially after that convincing victory under Bumrah’s leadership,” added Cullinan, who played 70 Tests and 138 ODIs for the Proteas.
As Cullinan pointed out, Rohit’s record in South Africa is indeed worrisome. With 256 runs from 14 ODIs and 183 runs from 6 Tests, his numbers aren’t something to be proud of. In fact, one of Rohit’s two Test centuries away from India came against the West Indies in Roseau last year. Rohit has yet to score a century in either Australia or New Zealand.
