Rohit Sharma on Saturday admitted that deciding to open in Test matches back in 2019 was one of the biggest decisions he took as a cricketer because he knew that it was going to be his “last chance” in red-ball cricket.
Rohit Sharma on Saturday scored a near chanceless 127, his first overseas hundred that put India in a good position against England in the fourth Test.
Rohit Sharma: Batting As An Opener Was The Last Chance And The Biggest Risk That He Took
Asked if giving the green light to the team management about batting at the top of the order was the biggest risk that he took, the elegant Mumbaikar nodded in approval.
“You could say so in the hindsight,” Rohit said at the end of the third day’s play.
“In the back of my mind, I knew this was my last chance as well trying another position in the batting order,” he said after scoring his eighth Test hundred and fifth as an opener.
“When the offer came to me, I was very much aware of it as there were talks within the management about opening the innings at some stage. Mentally, I was ready to take up the challenge and see how I can do well up the order,” he said.
He was aware that there won’t be too many chances as his stint as a middle-order batter didn’t go exactly well.
“I know I batted in middle order and things didn’t go as per the way I wanted it to and I knew this was my last opportunity to try out and you know management is thinking whatever I want to try,” he stated.
However, sport is about taking chances that come one’s way.
“When you are playing the sport, you always have to take those chances and you always have to take those risks and so you could say I was ready for it and didn’t come to me as a surprise.You can say it would have been my last opportunity if I wouldn’t have succeeded. Anything could have happened,” said Rohit, who was very straight forward in his admission.
His first outing as a Test match opener was against South Africa at home and he smashed a century in both innings of the match and followed it with a double century as well. He has scored 1462 runs as an opener averaging 58.48 with as many as 5 tons. While his average at home is 79.52, his overseas average has improved slightly and is 31.3.
Rohit Sharma Don’t Mind Looking Ugly At Times As Long As He Gets The Job Done For The Team
Rohit Sharma did say that the team management had told him that he will get a long rope.
“That (about it being his last opportunity) was my feeling. I don’t know about others because the team management told me that I will have a long run. But I wanted to think in a way that this is it. I have to make good use of the opportunity and for that I have to do whatever it takes,” he said.
For Rohit Sharma, it is all about ticking the small boxes in pursuit of the bigger picture.
“I don’t mind looking ugly at times as long as I can get the job done for the team. That is very crucial.”
Rohit Sharma’s last Test appearance against England in their ground came back in 2014 as he wasn’t part of the Test squad which toured the country in 2018. Rohit Sharma scored 34 runs in the only Test he played on the 2014 tour. In the World Test Championship final, he got starts and scored 34 and 30.
In the ongoing series, he has amassed 368 runs averaging 52.57. Rohit Sharma has also recently overtaken captain Virat Kohli to become the top-ranked Test batter from India.