There is no role for an anchor now in T20, says Rohit Sharma
Once upon a time, someone had to play the anchoring role with the responsibility of building the innings in T20 like Test and ODI. But now T20 cricket has changed a lot, become more aggressive.
Khan Mutasim Billah LifeEditor
Posted - 2023-05-25T15:58:08+06:00
Updated - 2023-05-25T15:58:08+06:00
Mumbai Indians and Indian national team captain Rohit Sharma does not see any role of ‘anchoring’ in T20 format. Rohit feels that even if he does not have the power-hitting skills in this short format cricket, he should try to get runs quickly in a different way.
Once upon a time, someone had to play the anchoring role with the responsibility of building the innings in T20 like Test and ODI. But now T20 cricket has changed a lot, become more aggressive.
"As I see it, there is no role for an anchor now. It is just how T20 cricket is played these days, unless you are 20 for 3 or 4, which is not going to happen every day. Once in a while, you will be in that position and then someone needs to anchor the innings and finish off to a good score. There is no role for an anchor anymore, guys are playing differently,” Rohit said.
But those who are not good at hitting fours or sixes, what will they do? In this case, Rohit's solution is to not think about his own runs but think about the team, and try to play small cameos "All seven batters need to play their role, I believe that if you get a good score, it is good, but even if you get a good 30-40 off just 10-15 or 20 balls, it is as good because you are doing the role for the team. The game has changed."
However, accepting the fact that not everyone can play like a power-hitter, Rohit added, "I know I cannot match the power of guys like Tim David, Kieron Pollard and Cameron Green. They are powerful hitters; they can hit 100 metres easily. But my thinking is that if I am getting a six after 65-70 metres, I only have to hit 80 metres. Why do I need to hit 100 metres? I will do that once you allow eight runs for it.
"I will hit 80 metres only because I am getting six runs for it, and for that I need to time the ball. I do not need to muscle the ball like the other guys do - that is their strength. My strength is to get the ball in the middle of the bat, which is what we call the sweet spot."