For Rohit Sharma, World Cup spots aren't yet guaranteed

India, yesterday, took an unassailable lead against Windies in the five-match ODI series, winning the fourth match at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai by 224 runs. The likes of Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu scored centuries to help their team rack up 377. Thereafter, left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed and chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav picked up three wickets each to carve India’s victory.

In the meantime, Rohit reckons Rayudu has turned out to be the Men in Blue’s solution at the number four slot in ODIs with the World Cup in England and Wales knocking on the door. The Guntur-born batsman notched 100 runs off 81 balls after which Fabian Allen ran him out. The 31-year-old Rohit also admitted that India were under pressure after losing Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli cheaply.

“I think (it’s a) very important (knock). Hopefully he has solved all the mysteries of number 4. I guess till the World Cup, there won’t be any talk of number 4. He (Rayudu) batted brilliantly because at that point a big partnership was needed and it was a perfect platform for him also to showcase what he’s got.

There was pressure, of course, losing top two batsmen and building a partnership was important. So it was a pressure innings and I thought he responded well to that situation,” Sharma was quoted as saying in the post-match press conference.

Rohit is impressed by Khaleel

Moreover, Rohit went on to say that players aren’t yet assured of a position in the team for the mega-event next year. Furthermore, the Nagpur-born batter heaped praises on Khaleel and said that he could turn out to be useful in England and New Zealand.

“Khaleel is a promising prospect. With a left-arm seamer you always have that edge. And the way Khaleel swung the ball today, he would have troubled any batsmen. He is maturing pretty fast. The World Cup is still a long way off with lots of games remaining.

I wouldn’t say spots have been guaranteed to anyone. I hope he continues to do well. We are playing in New Zealand and then the World Cup in England where the ball swings a lot. He could be quite handy there,” he remarked.

Rohit scored 162 runs from 137 deliveries and talking about how he compiled the knock, he said, “I never thought of a double hundred. I just wanted to make sure to get as many runs as possible and get the team into a good position. Rayudu told me that you have got a good chance for a double. The CCI can be tricky in terms of chasing and our bowlers did well in getting them out.”

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