TV
Indian test team under Rohit Sharma knows the only way, and that is to play ruthless cricket. Captaincy has always suited Rohit Sharma and what is pleasing to see is how he sees the game and ignites the fire among his team members to deliver their best. A classic example was the Kanpur test against Bangladesh where India surprised everyone and pulled off an amazing win from an improbable position where 2 days were abandoned due to wet outfield and rain.
But, things were not quite the way it is now back in 2018 when Rohit was struggling to cement his spot in the test team. After making a sensational test debut against West Indies in 2013, which is fondly remembered as a farewell test of legendary Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, but, since then till 2018, he scored 1585 runs with 3 hundreds to his name.
Rohit acknowledged the impact of Kohli and Shastri on Jatin Sapru's YouTube channel, saying, "In the second innings, I was very grateful to Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli for giving me the opportunity to bat up the order. It wasn’t an easy decision to promote me in Tests. They trusted me." He added
"My response to them was clear: I’ll play my natural game and won’t take the pressure of trying to survive. I’m going to play freely. If the ball is there, whether it’s the first ball of the Test or not, I’m going to hit it. They gave me the freedom to do what I wanted."
Giving Rohit the opening slot in tests proved to be a masterstroke where he played a scintillating knock of 176 against South Africa in 2019.
Since taking up the opener’s role in Tests, Rohit has amassed 2594 runs in 34 Tests, including nine centuries and seven fifties. This move not only stabilized India’s top order but also transformed Rohit into a prolific Test opener.
