'I had asked Rohit Sharma to open the innings for Mumbai in 2015': Ravi Shastri

Rohit Sharma, the Indian opener had a great year so far with the bat, consistently scoring runs for his national team. He performed brilliantly in World Cup 2019 and ended up being the top-scorer. However, his biggest achievement was when he opened for Team India in the longest format and smashed brilliant back-to-back centuries against South Africa. Now, Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has come out with a strange revelation over bringing the Indian Hitman into the opening ranks.

The 32-year-old has emerged as one of the best openers that India has ever produced in its cricket history in the limited-overs format. The Men in Blue were struggling to find a good opener for a long and Rohit turned out to be their solution. He smashed two tons and a double ton against South Africa in the three-match Test series.

Ravi Shastri feels that it is Rohit Sharma’s approach that has made him a successful opener

Ravi Shastri in an exclusive interview revealed that in 2015 he had asked Rohit to open for Mumbai on a regular basis when he is not playing for India. Shastri’s motive behind asking Rohit to open the innings was that it will give a certain amount of confidence as the game is all about what you feel and express.

“It was 2015 when I told him (Rohit) that he should be opening for Mumbai, that he should be opening on a regular basis when he is not playing for India just to get the feel. And it was all in the mind. People ask me how you went from 10 to 1, it is in the mind. It is first relishing the challenge, accepting the fact that you could be out the first ball because those conditions are difficult. So relish the challenge,” Ravi Shastri said as quoted by India Today.

Shastri also added the fact that Rohit is a free-flowing batsman and cannot wait for scoring runs. It is only because of his approach of taking the charge against the bowlers have made him a successful opener in the limited-overs.

“What I understood watching and seeing, that this guy should not be waiting to bat. Why is he successful in the one-day game? Because he goes and takes the charge. The bowler is not set, he is not set, so they start afresh. So, if he gets away, he has the ammunition to attack”, Shastri added.

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