Rohit Sharma has struggled in ODIs in 2026 with only one fifty to his name.
Former India speedster Varun Aaron has highlighted how Rohit Sharma has played a cautious innings for India for the second time. This came after Rohit Sharma made 26 runs in 47 balls as India lost the second ODI of the three-match series to England in Cardiff on July 16.
India was asked to bat first and only managed 233 runs, thanks to half-centuries by Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer. In response, Joe Root scored 99* and shouldered England’s chase, as they achieved the target with 4 wickets in hand.
Aaron highlighted that the former India captain had batted similarly in Australia last year before scoring a century in Sydney in the final ODI. He also stated that Rohit Sharma lacked fluidity in his innings, but stated that the opener could do an encore of his Sydney heroics at Lord's.
"The fluidity was definitely not seen. When any player plays just one format for their country, a slight scratchiness is seen. It was seen in Australia as well, but at the end of the day, Rohit played a terrific knock at the SCG. So, he has one more chance at Lord's. You can never count him out. He can generate that one knock which will make everybody feel like Rohit Sharma has never left the building at all,” Aaron said on the Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues.’
"However, today (Thursday), he was a bit scratchy. Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill were very fluent in the same conditions. So, he would have wanted to get it along, especially that one over of Sam Curran, where again the left-arm seamer comes in. He must be thinking about his previous dismissal,” he added.
Aaron believed that Rohit's departure might have been caused by a lot of dot balls against Will Jacks and Sam Curran.
"Was very circumspect, and then when Will Jacks comes on, another three dots. Nine dots in a row, and then he tries to play a sweep, gets the cue end of the bat, and gets out. He would be quite disappointed with his performance," he added.
In the 17th over of India's innings, Sam Curran delivered a maiden to Rohit Sharma. Before being dismissed, the 39-year-old had played three dot balls in Will Jacks' subsequent over.
Former India wicketkeeper-batter Saba Karim stated that Rohit Sharma's batting lacked fluidity for the second straight game. The former India selector went on to say that Rohit's lack of downswing during the sweep demonstrated his hesitancy.
"This has happened for the second time. Something similar was seen in the first match as well. It's valid that you take a little time to assess the wicket, but once the first five or six overs had passed, the fluency should have come in Rohit Sharma's batting.
The way he got out as well, this is his favorite shot against the spinners. I felt the backlift he had while playing the sweep; that downswing was not seen. It shows that he was slightly tentative in his footwork and the kind of shots he was trying to play," Saba Karim said on JioHotStar.
He added that a few doubts seem to be creeping into the stylish opener's mind and that the pressure on him is mounting.