Sunil Gavaskar expects opener Rohit Sharma to repeat his 2019 ODI World Cup performance in the upcoming five-match series against England starting on August 4.
Rohit Sharma, who opened for India in a Test match in England for the first time in the marquee WTC final, had scored a record five centuries – which was the most in a single edition of a World Cup by any batsmen – in the ODI World Cup in England in 2019. Sunil Gavaskar believes there is no reason why the stylish right-hander cannot repeat the feat this time around in red-ball cricket.
Sunil Gavaskar : It Won’t Be A Surprise If More Experienced Rohit Sharma Repeats His Performances Of 2019 World Cup In 5 Tests Against England
The legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar said now Rohit Sharma has added experience of opening the batting for India even in Test cricket and it should not surprise anyone if the right-hander repeats his World Cup success.
Rohit Sharma hit a purple patch in the World Cup 2019 scoring 648 runs in 9 games at an average of 81.00 with five hundreds and a half-century. During the tournament, he became the first batsman in World Cup history to score five centuries in a single edition.
“We saw Rohit Sharma score five incredible hundreds in the World Cup in England two years back,” Sunil Gavaskar had told PTI.
“The century he got against South Africa was on a tough pitch and cold conditions and he made the adjustments beautifully. Now two years later he is even more experienced so don’t be surprised if he repeats that performance in this series too,” he added.
Rohit Sharma was one of the few Indian batsmen who looked in control against New Zealand seamers in overcast conditions in the WTC final in Southampton. The Mumbai batsman was not able to get a big score but his solid technique is sure to give Indian fans confidence ahead of the big-ticket series which is set to mark the beginning of the second cycle of the World Test Championship 2021-23.
Rohit Sharma Will Have More Responsibility In Absence Of Injured Shubman Gill
Rohit Sharma, however, will have added responsibility because of his opening partner Shubman Gill’s injury. Reports suggest that the young right-hander is in danger of missing the entire five-match series. BCCI, however, has not made any official statement on Shubman Gill’s fitness. If the reports do turn out to be true, Mayank Agarwal will likely start with Rohit Sharma in the first Test at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.
India does have KL Rahul in their squad and also Bengal cricketer Abhimanyu Easwaran as a reserve, who can be added to the squad as an opener if needed. Selectors have declined the request made by Indian team management to send openers Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal to England to join the Test squad following the injury of Shubman Gill, who has been ruled out for eight weeks after he suffered a shin injury post the final WTC encounter at Ageas Bowl in Southampton.