India, July 18 -- The permanence of class against the temporariness of form is one of the great conundrums of professional sport.

Form can't trump class, one school argues, convinced that for extraordinary performers with an impressive volume of work, a few sustained failures are no more than a minor blip.

And then there are others who contend that no matter how glorious an individual's past might be, it should not be a free pass for not delivering in the here and now.

Rohit Sharma is smack bang in the middle of this raging debate triggered by speculation in sections of the media that he will be nudged into international retirement after Sunday's decisive ODI against England at Lord's. So strident had been the cry that even the normall...