Reports: Rohit Sharma decides to take a break, to skip Sri Lanka T20Is at home

Indian opener and limited-overs’ vice-captain Rohit Sharma has been playing non-stop cricket this year across formats. Without the shadow of any doubt, it has been a sensational year for him. He led Mumbai Indians to title glory in IPL 2019 by beating Chennai Super Kings by 1 run in the intriguing final. Mumbai Indians became the most successful franchise in the Indian Premier League by adding their fourth title in their coveted trophy cabinet.

Rohit Sharma continued his rich vein of form in the ICC ODI World Cup 2019. His midas touch saw him score a string of hundreds, thereby, becoming the first cricketer to score five centuries in a World Cup tournament. He then made waves in the Test cricket and established himself as the most complete player across three formats of the game. When he was given an opportunity to play as an opener against South Africa, he justified his selection right by scoring a magnificent century against South Africa in the first Test in Visakhapatnam.

After that, he followed it up with a scintillating 176 in the first innings and then followed it up with a sterling 127 in the second innings. In the process, he became the first batsman to smash twin hundreds in the maiden Test as an opening batsman. Rohit Sharma hit the peak performance in the longest format after he scored his maiden double century. He registered his career-best score of 212 in the 3rd Test match against South Africa.

When Virat Kohli took a short break from cricket, Rohit Sharma led India against Bangladesh in three-match T20I series, winning the series by 2-1. After that, India invited West Indies for 3 T20Is and an equal number of ODIs.

Rohit Sharma to take a small break from cricket

In the latest development, Rohit Sharma has decided to take a break from cricket. If reliable sources doing the rounds are to be believed, the Indian limited-overs vice-captain, who has been a regular feature across all formats this year will miss the upcoming three-match T20Is against Sri Lanka.

The first T20I is scheduled to be played at Guwahati on January 5, the second one will be played in Indore (January 7) and the third one will be at Pune (January 10). It has been learned that Rohit Sharma is likely to be back for the three-match ODI series against Australia later in January.

“The selectors normally don’t give rest to anyone in the T20 team, but Rohit has been on the road for quite a while now. He has informed the Board that he wants to take rest for this series,” a source in the BCCI told TOI.

Shikhar Dhawan, who has recovered from a knee injury which he sustained during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament in November will open with KL Rahul against Sri Lanka.

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