Can’t change the past, it is the future that matters: Rohit

Rohit Sharma was all set to make his Test debut against South Africa at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur in 2010 when he injured himself playing football on the morning of the game. As things turned out, he ended up waiting a further three and a half years for his Test debut.

More than seven years since that fateful morning, Rohit returned to the same venue at a very different juncture in his Test career. He hadn't played a Test match for more than a year. Fighting to keep himself in the fray in a competitive squad, the No. 6 batsman scored a sparkling century that played a part in India's innings-and-239-run win over Sri Lanka in the second Test.

"Personally for me, it was very important as I was playing Test cricket after nearly 500 days," he said on Monday (November 27). "I have been waiting for this opportunity and I am glad that I could put some runs on the board for myself and the team. Really happy that it was worth waiting for so long. I clearly remember this was the ground where I got injured and I had to wait three years to make my Test debut. This ground has now given me something now to go back with. Very happy and pleased with the way we played."

Despite the century, Rohit isn't guaranteed a spot in the XI, especially if India goes back to playing five specialist bowlers. The batsman, though, is not too fussed about it and has instead chosen to handle it with maturity.

"My plans are simple and clear. I don’t want to complicate things, which I have done in the past," he explained. "When I came into the team, I just thought too much about it and gave too much importance. At the end of the day, it’s just a cricket match that you have to play, (so) don’t worry about anything else. Initially my focus was so much on Test cricket - "oh no, this is Test cricket, I have to do well, I have to do this and that". In thinking that, I lost a lot of focus and forgot what I was there for and what I needed to do.

"When I was inexperienced, when I just came into the team, there were a lot of things that I used to think about, but not anymore. I’ve passed that age and I shouldn’t be thinking what happened in the past. I should be ready for what is coming next, because that’s what matters. What has happened in the past is gone – you can never change it. For me, I can change things looking forward, and looking forward means the Delhi Test match and thereafter the one-day series and then the South Africa series."

Rohit's Test career finally seemed to be taking off last year when he hit a half-century in each of the three Tests against New Zealand, but a thigh injury forced him to miss the rest of India's international home season. In all, he has managed only 22 Tests in his career so far for 1286 runs, but sticking to his newfound maturity, he doesn't regret the way things have turned out.

"There will always be regrets in your life. Even if you score 10,000 runs, you will feel, “oh, I should have scored 15,000 runs”. Or people will tell you, “you should have scored 15,000 runs, man”," he said. "So that’s what it is. That’s what this world is and that’s what we’re living in. But for me I’m glad that I’m back on my feet, because when I went through that injury (last year), at one point I was thinking whether I’ll be able to walk or not, because the injury was very bad. I’m lucky that I’m on my feet, playing and scoring some runs, so yes, I’m happy. I’m not someone who will think about what has happened in the past. I like to see what is in front of me, and that is how I look at it."

The Indian limited-overs vice-captain said he was willing to shelve his aggressive approach if the longest format so demanded.

"I’m naturally a very free-flowing batsman, but having said that I understand that sometimes you have to play according to the conditions, situation, and sometimes you cannot play your natural game," he said. "When the team requires you to just bat out overs and you’re in a situation where you need to save the game, you have to change your game. You can't think "this is not my game, I cannot play this". That is what Test cricket is all about. It brings you so many challenges, which is why they say it is the most challenging format, and you if you have to really excel, you have to be more disciplined in the way you conduct yourself on the ground. These are the little things that you have to focus on, and my focus has been completely and purely on these things in the last few years.

"Of course, coming from Mumbai, I’ve learned the hardship of scoring runs, and making every opportunity count, because in Mumbai, a few opportunities here and there (if) you slip, you might not get an opportunity for god knows how many years or months. Every time you get an opportunity, you try and make it count. That’s what I’ve learned playing for Mumbai and growing up as a kid, getting into the Ranji Trophy dressing-room. There were stalwarts in that dressing room, and you have to find your place in that playing XI, so you have to be extra… not talented, but you have to be more disciplined and bring something to the table every now and then. You cannot just be a batsman and score runs. You have to do a lot of things on the field as well. Those were the things that I grew up playing with in Mumbai Ranji Trophy team, and that’s what I try and bring here. Test cricket, if you’re a pure batsman, you have to somehow contribute in some other manner, whether you do part-time bowling, get a wicket or two, or try and take a brilliant catch, run-out to change the momentum of the game."

There was fulsome praise for R Ashwin, the off-spinner who became the quickest to get to 300 wickets, in his 54th Test. "Hats off to Ashwin. He’s been, in the last maybe 5-6 years, one of the match-winners of the team,” Rohit pointed out. “The way he’s performed and the way he’s brought the team back from difficult situations, hats off. I hope he continues and wish him all the luck. He knows exactly what he’s doing, and he works according to his plans, which I think works for him. It’s always important that you stay within your limits and Ashwin is doing that."