Sunil Gavaskar attributes Rohit Sharma's struggles to age: Details here
What's the story
Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has blamed Rohit Sharma's poor form in the ongoing Melbourne Test on his age.
The observation came after India's batting collapse, which saw them trailing Australia by 310 runs.
Gavaskar particularly noted Rohit's slow footwork while getting out on Day 2 of the Test match against Australia.
Rohit, who has been awful with the bat of late, continued his struggle against pacers.
Opening woes
Rohit's decision to open backfires
Rohit, who has been under the scanner for his form in Test cricket, decided to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
This meant KL Rahul was pushed down to number three.
However, the plan backfired as Rohit was dismissed after scoring just three runs by Australian captain Pat Cummins.
Rohit fell while trying an awkward pull shot off Cummins against a short-of-length delivery outside the off stump.
His attempt produced a mistimed top-edge that was easily gobbled by Scott Boland at mid-on.
Dismissal breakdown
Gavaskar analyzes Rohit's dismissal
Speaking to Star Sports, Gavaskar said, "That's a shot that he normally plays. The half-pull off the front foot. I think he probably got in two minds whether to go for the proper pull shot or not and then ended up just trying to tap it like catching practice."
He highlighted Rohit has a long gap between playing.
"But that's what happens when you have a gap, when you're 36, 37-years-old and you have a long gap between playing cricket."
Rivalry
Cummins proves to be Rohit's nemesis
Notably, Cummins has been a tough customer for Rohit.
As per ESPNcricinfo, the Australian pacer has sent Rohit back to the pavilion seven times in 13 innings, conceding just 127 runs off 199 deliveries. Rohit averages 18.14 against Cummins.
This rivalry has only increased the pressure on Rohit, who has been disappointing since returning for the 2nd Test.
His scores in the series read: 3, 6, 10 and 3.
Information
Rohit's has failed in three successive series
Before the Australia series, Rohit scored 2, 52, 0, 8, 18 and 11 against New Zealand at home in a three-match affair. India were blanked 3-0 by the Kiwis. Prior to that, he also failed against Bangladesh, scoring 6, 5, 23 and 8.