Rohit Sharma’s Aggressive Approach Has Changed How India Plays White-Ball cricket : Abhishek Nayar
South Africa’s three-match ODI series on the 2025 tour of India is level at 1-1, leaving the home team aiming for a series-clinching victory in the third ODI scheduled to be held in Visakhapatnam today, as the series decided. Talking about ‘Game Plan’, JioStar expert Abhishek Nayar analyzed Rohit Sharma’s approach in testing conditions, Virat’s tactical adjustments, India’s finishing problems and the batting form needed to finish the series.
Talking about ‘Game Plan’, JioStar expert Abhishek Nayar analyzed Rohit Sharma’s growth as an ODI batsman, “Rohit Sharma has made a good transition in ODIs. Early in his career, he became a safe opener, starting from a lower order. This is where he really flourished. He changed the way India played white-ball cricket by adopting an aggressive approach that focused on hitting sixes rather than just piling up runs. His exemplary leadership has raised the team standards by playing without worrying about centuries.”
Nayar explained why Rohit Sharma did not come out to bowl much to play his shots: “Rohit Sharma did not come out to bowl big shots due to the swing conditions in this series. When he feels the ball is not swinging much, he counters the bowlers with confidence. He is careful about his footwork due to the uncertain pitch bounce. But in the familiar Vizag conditions, we are likely to see a return of his aggressive walk-out game.”
On Virat Kohli’s shot execution at key moments, he said: “One of the big things that Virat Kohli has done in this series against South Africa is how he strikes the ball at key moments. His greatness is how straight his bat comes down to hit the ball. We haven’t seen that much before. The bat was opening up. But here, every time you see him strike the ball, his head is right on it. It’s very neat. He puts the bat in line with the ball, even when he’s angled it’s always flat.” “He manages to play. That’s his greatness and the main reason why he’s so successful.”
About the tactical adjustments Virat Kohli has made to his batting style, Abhishek Nayar continued: “Virat has changed his batting a lot, especially his tactics, since the Australia tour. If you look at his last two ODI knocks against South Africa, each shot is from a different guard. He was at leg stump, middle stump and off stump as well. He made these changes to adapt to every length. He used his feet, he was deep in. His brain works like an AI computer to solve everything.” “The conditions also helped the style of cricket Virat wanted to play.”
About Ruturaj Gaikwad’s control and technique, he said, “We have seen South African pacers bowling Ruturaj Gaikwad at the fifth stump line and bowling close to his pads to get the LBW. What matters is how effective he is when the ball is in that area. The closer they bowl to him, he plays the same shot on the offside, the same shot on the offside. This shows what kind of batting skill he has, because not everyone can do that. Some batsmen play only on the offside.” But he does it with control. This is his greatest strength. It is pleasing to the eye when you watch him, because he has a control in his mind and body that he can do whatever he wants.”
