David Gower explains how Rohit Sharma has mastered the five elements of batting

Former England skipper David Gower believes that Rohit Sharma has been able to score tons of runs because he has mastered the five elements of batting. These five elements include determination, ability, technique, calmness and concentration.

2019 was a remarkable year for Rohit Sharma. He scored five hundreds at the World Cup and became the only batsman to do at the global event. He also ended the year as the leading run-scorer in ODIs by amassing 1490 runs for India.

“At the moment, we see his (Rohit’s) talent on show all the time because he makes stacks and stacks of runs so the work comes in to actually make sure that you have the determination, the ability, the technique, the calmness and the concentration – all the things you need to actually occupy the crease for long enough to make those runs,” David Gower told Cricket.com.

'Rohit Sharma's lazy elegance makes him an exceptional batsman'

However, at times, Rohit Sharma also gets out playing the same kind of shots that fetch him runs. His dismissals may not look pleasing to the eye, with many equating his languid style to laziness.

But, David Gower believes that it is this lazy elegance that makes Rohit Sharma a special player.

“The downside is this, as Rohit has probably found out as well, that if you make it look easy when you get out, the natural assumption for people watching sometimes is that you don’t care, that you’re too relaxed or it doesn’t matter. It looks as easy getting out as it does hitting the ball for four. All you can do under those circumstances is say ‘look two days ago I got a hundred, that’s what I’m trying to do every day, just because it didn’t work is not because I’m not trying’," Gower asserted.

Furthermore, David Gower was of the opinion that Rohit Sharma needed to trust himself with such shots and keep playing them whenever accorded an opportunity, in order to continue his rich vein of form.