David Gower Underlines The Reason Rohit Sharma Has Not Tasted As Much Success In Test Cricket

Former English captain David Gower has been all praises for Rohit Sharma of late. At the same time, David Gower has underlined why he has not found as much success in whites. There exist only a few better players than that of Rohit Sharma at present. Having made his international debut in 2007, it was not until 2013 that a promotion to the top-order turned his career around dramatically. While India’s limited-overs vice-captain is on his way to becoming a white-ball great, he is yet to hit the stride in Tests.

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Rohit Sharma has over 9000 ODI runs at an average of marginally under 50 in 224 fixtures while he is amongst the highest run-getters in T20 international cricket in 108 appearances. On the other hand, the 32 Tests have only produced 2141 with six tons. While Sharma’s Test average is also 46.54, one would expect for a player of his capability to have had more caps and far more superior numbers.

According to David Gower, it is not a surprise that the 33-year old has not thrived in Tests as much as in limited-overs cricket. Gower conceded that there exist several talented players, who are superior in white-ball cricket but mediocre in Tests.

“I’m not startled, far from it. There are loads of players with immense talent and it’s a very fine line sometimes. I can name you a dozen players pretty quickly probably who are very good at white-ball cricket, hopeless at red-ball cricket,” the Kent-born stated as quoted by Hindustan Times.

The 63-year old cited the instance of Jason Roy, who debuted in 2015 and is one of the vital cogs of England’s white-ball cricket. Gower added that looking at his limited-overs form; he had an impression that Roy would fare well in Tests too. Nevertheless, all the South-African born could manage is 187 runs across ten innings in the Ashes after which he faced the axe. Despite that, the Kent-born refrains from calling them not talented players.

“It doesn’t mean they’re not talented, it doesn’t mean they’re not gifted in a certain way. For instance, we have one in England – Jason Roy, who is a very, very talented player. A vital part of England’s World Cup win last year, opens the innings in white-ball cricket and gets hundreds. I had a hope that he might be able to learn how to control himself better at Test match level and make runs. All that hope looks a bit distant now because of what happened in the Ashes,”

“You can get away with a lot in white-ball cricket” : David Gower

The 114-Test veteran went on to say that Test cricket is the format, which exposes the players to different problems and is the ultimate version. While a batsman can be very talented and hit the ball a long way in coloured clothing; however, according to the Englishmen, Test cricket needs “stepping up” for a player. He opines that a player can get away with a lot in limited-overs cricket but not in longest version.

“That’s why I think I, and most players current and past, would say that the ultimate test is Test match cricket because it exposes people to different problems. You can get away with a lot in white-ball cricket. You can be multi-talented, you can be a great player to watch, you can hit the ball miles in white-ball cricket, but I’m afraid sometimes people are exposed when it comes to stepping up and I always call it stepping up to Test match cricket,” he added.

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