What’s the Story?
Indian batsman Rohit Sharma is all set to open the batting for India in the second ICC Champions Trophy 2017 warm-up match against Bangladesh at The Oval on Tuesday. The 30-year-old right-hander missed out on playing the opening match after he joined the rest of his teammates late, owing to personal commitments back home.
Ajinkya Rahane opened the innings in Rohit’s absence in the opening game against New Zealand, which the Men In Blue won by 45 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method on Sunday.
In case you didn’t know...
Rohit’s last appearance for India in any format of the game was in October 2016, when India beat New Zealand in the deciding game of a five-match ODI series at Vishakhapatnam. The right-hander suffered an injury to his thigh muscle tendon, that ruled him out of the remainder of the home season, also involving England, Bangladesh and Australia.
He made a victorious comeback to the Indian Premier League, where he led the Mumbai Indians to the title in the final against the Rising Pune Supergiant.
The heart of the matter
Ever since he opened for India in early 2013, Rohit has gradually made the spot his own, thanks to some splendid performances in that position. He, along with Shikhar Dhawan, were instrumental in India winning the Champions Trophy in 2013, as they consistently gave the side the starts they needed to build the momentum for the others to follow.
In the last 4 years, Rohit has smashed two double hundreds while opening the batting and it has meant India have had to face fewer headaches as far as that position is concerned in limited-overs cricket.
What’s next?
It will be interesting to see how Rohit fares in his first match back as an India player. He had a decent IPL season with the bat, but in each of those games, he batted at the Number 4 position. while he will be opening on Tuesday. If he can get going with the bat, then Kohli and co. would surely head into the opening match against Pakistan with some confidence about the Mumbaikar succeding.
Author’s take
Having had so much success as an opener, it only makes further sense to allow Rohit to return back to the opening position. Hopefully, the right-hander will show no nerves on his India return and deliver in the only opportunity that he has before the event.
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