Rohit Sharma gave an injury scare to Team India after getting struck during the training session ahead of the England semis in the ICC T20 World Cup. However, he has reportedly not suffered any severe injury.
Team India outlasted a scare ahead of the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup semi-final versus former champion England. Skipper Rohit Sharma sustained a strong blow on his forearm during an optional training session in Adelaide on Tuesday. However, it was not a severe injury. Rohit was experiencing everyday practice routines, facing the team's throwdown expert S Raghu at the Adelaide Oval. A short ball jumped off the length area and punched his right forearm. The captain, attempting a pull shot and missing the ball, was evidently in pain. After applying an ice pack to the injured arm and relaxing, he restarted his training.
Team sources articulated that the skipper is doing good and should be playing the semi-final versus England on Thursday. "He didn't feel much discomfort when he batted for the second time. CT scan or x-ray might not be needed. Also, we have one day in the middle, which is an optional session. It doesn't look serious as of now," a source informed PTI.
Rohit looked forlorn and in considerable pain when watching the training session from a distance, sitting on an ice box after being hit. Mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton was seen interacting with him for some time. Rohit continued his training after some time, but throwdown experts did not go full throttle while he was primarily defensive with his shots and checked if his stirs were okay.
Rohit and his love affair with horizontal bat shots
Rohit desires the beautiful pull shot, which has gotten him plenty of runs, but he has also lost wickets playing the stroke multiple times. Even at this tournament, Rohit was dismissed playing the pull-shot versus Zimbabwe and South Africa, while against Bangladesh, he was put down in the deep, attempting to play with the horizontal bat.
Rohit also had similar kinds of dismissals during the 2021 England series. It is a high-risk, high-gain stroke, and it is intrinsic to Rohit, the player. While training, he reserves the most time for the pull, whether played behind or in front of the square. Even during the second training session on Tuesday after being hit, Rohit recreated a few pulls, with Raghu fetching it to rear from length.
One of the pre-requisite to pull off the stroke is hand-eye coordination. However, execution may suffer when reflexes are narrowly on the wane at an age and the reaction time is a split second more. India will be facing off against England in the second semi-final in Adelaide on Thursday. Also, Pakistan and New Zealand will lock horns in the opening semi-final on Wednesday in Sydney.
(With inputs from PTI)