Rohit Sharma's return to the Ranji Trophy was a short-lived one - he lasted 19 balls and scored just three in Mumbai's Group A fixture against Jammu and Kashmir at the Sharad Pawar Academy in BKC in Mumbai.
Rohit, India's Test and ODI captain who has been going through a terrible run of form, was the focus of a lot of attention in the lead-up to the game as soon as he confirmed his presence in the game with a nod and "I will" at the Champions Trophy squad announcement press conference last week. With a white floppy hat and sunglasses on, Rohit was relaxed before the game, joking with his team-mates as they warmed up with some head volleyball.
But he wore a determined look as he walked out to open with his regular India opening partner in Tests, Yashasvi Jaiswal, after Mumbai's captain Ajinkya Rahane opted to bat. To accommodate Rohit and Jaiswal at the top, Mumbai had to leave out Ayush Mhatre, who, in his debut season, has been one of Mumbai's star performers: 408 runs from nine innings at an average of 45.33 with two centuries.
It was a cool winter morning in Mumbai, a relief after a week that saw temperatures touch the mid-30s. And J&K's opening bowlers made sure to make use of the early-morning nip.
Auqib Nabi conceded a four early in the opening over but then tightened his lines; Rohit got off the mark with a single through the on side. But he was given a proper work over by Umar Nazir Mir, who bowled two successive maidens to him. Mir maintained a consistent line outside off and varied his lengths a touch, not allowing Rohit to get going.
Rohit managed to drive a Nabi delivery through the covers for a couple in the next over but once again was kept quiet by Mir, who got his reward on his 17th ball. He bowled a length delivery on the fifth stump, with a hint of movement away from the right-hand batter. Rohit looked to play his trademark pick-up shot over midwicket but only managed to get a leading edge to the off side. Paras Dogra ran a few yards to his left from mid-off to extra cover, called loud and clear, and pouched it to end Rohit's stay in the middle.
The short stay in the middle meant that Rohit's lean run in red-ball cricket continued. Across five home Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand at home last year, he had just one half-century to show - against New Zealand in Bengaluru - with four single-digit scores across ten innings. He also had just one double-digit score in five innings in Australia, where he played in three of the five Test matches. He finished the 2024-25 Test season with a batting average of 10.93.
Indeed, Rohit's first-class batting average of 10.43 across 16 innings in the 2024-25 season is the second-lowest for any batter since 2006 (for a minimum of 15 innings while batting in the top six). England's Haseeb Hameed averaged 9.44 across 18 innings in the 2018 season.