MS Dhoni decision to make me open was a career changing move: Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma ever since the Under-19 days was touted as a big player. His potential and the “talent” were always the parameters used to define him as a cricketer. All that and a good couple of years into his career the Mumbai lad was still not able to cement his place in the team. There were continuous calls for looking beyond him but skipper MS Dhoni believed in him.

When he sensed a need to change something he asked Rohit to open the batting in the Champions Trophy 2013. All of a sudden he was able to express himself better, the hard ball came onto the bat nicely and Rohit enjoyed that. He was a naturally aggressive batsman and was never intimidated by pace which made him a perfect fit for the opener’s role.

Today, he is among the most consistent batsmen for Team India in limited-overs cricket and recently he was quoted by PTI terming the decision to open with him a “career-changing move”. “I believe the decision to open in ODIs changed my career and it was a decision taken by MS Dhoni. I became a better batsman after that. In fact it helped me understand my game better, react better according to situations,” Rohit told PTI in an exclusive interview.

He has an array of shots in his arsenal with the most prominent being the cut and the pull shot. Dhoni also sensed that and playing in England during an ODI series in 2013 where the faster bowlers rule the roost the skipper believed he would succeed as an opener.

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“He (Dhoni) just came up to me and said ‘I want you to open the innings as I am confident that you will do well. Since you can play both cut and pull shot well, you have the qualities to succeed as an opener’,” Rohit said while mentioning how he was told about the promotion in his batting position.

“He told me that I shouldn’t be scared of failures or get upset by criticism. He was looking at the bigger picture as the Champions Trophy was scheduled in England that year,”

“The Champions Trophy in England made me confident that I can open and ready to face challenges of playing white ball in English conditions in the morning.

“I got 65 against South Africa, who had Morne Morkel, Ryan McLaren, Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Rory Kleinveldt. Morne and McLaren were hitting three quarter length and Tsotsobe was swinging it. The skipper was confident that I could handle the situation and I did,” Rohit added.

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“With no disrespect to other great Indian captains, I was blessed to play under MS all these years. His calmness in pressure situations helped us. He always led from the front. There won’t be one like him.” The Mumbaikar concluded