Rohit146;s lucky charms

His eagerness is understandable. From the time he justified the 750,000 IPL price-tag by scoring 404 runs in the tournament, things haven8217;t gone as predicted for Rohit. Indian batsmen generally see trips to neighbouring countries as an invitation to a run-feast, but Rohit returned home from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka with nothing on his plate. Just one fifty in his last 14 games and a scoring sequence of 19, 0, 32, 18 and 3 in Sri Lanka was a clear indication that Rohit had somehow lost his way.

Left out for Irani

The slump also ensured his omission from the Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup. The national selectors, who had picked Rohit for the Test squad for the Lanka tour as a back-for the Fab Four, had shifted focus. After warming the bench in Sri Lanka, Rohit has now gone back in the queue just when there were signs of a vacancy in the middle-order, falling behind in the race to Mohammad Kaif, who had an impressive domestic season.

Rohit understands why he has been ignored and isn8217;t bitter about it. 8220;You look at last series against Lanka, and it8217;s clear that I need to get my form back. I don8217;t want take put too much pressure on myself by thinking whether I8217;ll be picked or not. I just want to spend time in the middle and score runs,8221; he says. But considering the competition and the emergence of new contenders, any more slip-ups could prove dangerous for his international career.

8220;Competition will be always there, and it8217;s good because it keeps you motivated. I8217;ve never ever given a thought what others are doing, I know what I am supposed to do,8221; he says.

Sent down the order

As is the case with most middle-order batsmen, failure has compounded Sharma8217;s problems even when he is the playing XI. During the tri-series in Australia, the Mumbai youngster played higher in the order and was seen as Sachin Tendulkar8217;s back-up at No 4. But since captains generally follow the cricketing logic of sending in-form batsmen at No 3 or No 4, he was demoted in the series in the sub-continent. 8220;I batted at four in Australia and once at three in Pakistan. Since then I8217;ve batted at almost every position. For me it will be now be a challenge to score runs in every position.8221;

8216;One bad series8217;

He says: 8220;Actually, I had just only very bad series and even there I was batting lower down the order. It8217;s hard to score big runs when you bat down the order.8221;

Ask if things will go his way in Hyderabad, and Sharma speaks about the 90 he scored for Mumbai on Thursday in Chennai. 8220;Yeah, I think I8217;m getting it back.8221;