Will lightning strike twice for Rohit?

It remains to be seen if the gamble to open with Rohit Sharma in Tests works for the right-hander. pti

The kind of long rope that Rohit Sharma has been extended since his international debut in 2007, probably no other Indian batsman has enjoyed. There was time in his one-day career when the naturally gifted batsman was struggling for consistency and a permanent place in the talent-loaded Indian middle-order. MS Dhoni was often questioned for persisting with him when many in the domestic circuit were waiting on the wings.

The former skipper didn’t allow outside noise to affect his judgement but Rohit’s inconsistencies meant tough decision had to be made. Then, during the home ODI series against England in 2013, Dhoni delivered a googly by promoting Rohit as an opener, a move which has turned out to be masterstroke and career-saver for the Mumbaikar. Rohit now is considered one of the premier openers in world and has scored a jaw-dropping three double centuries.

Six years later, Dhoni’s successor Virat Kohli is copying the Dhoni formula in a bid to resurrect Rohit’s stop-start Test career. With no place in the middle-order and India searching for an opener, Kohli is pushing Rohit to open, hoping the gamble bears the same results in whites as well.

‘Finding a spot’

“Rohit is going to start (as opener) for sure,” said Kohli at the pre-match press conference on Tuesday. “This has been discussed for a long time now. We felt like down the order it was about finding, you know, a spot wherever possible which wasn’t working both ways. We have a situation where the opportunity is there. So we thought it’s the ideal time to go ahead with it because we have spoken about it. And, you know, it was the same in one-day cricket. He played in the middle order but then suddenly, an opening conversation happened and within six to eight months, he was opening the innings. And you know what happened afterwards. So look, it’s very exciting for him and for the whole team. If he can do what he’s done in one-day cricket at the top and then obviously it’s a great thing for him and Indian cricket.”

While Rohit has bossed limited-overs cricket like few batsmen have, Test cricket is a completely different ball game. His weakness against the swinging ball has cooked his goose plenty of times, a primary reason why after kick-starting his Test career with back to back tons, he has managed just one more in the next 25.

Kohli felt Rohit is wiser by the experience and backed him to come good despite the Mumbaikar’s fallacy against a new red cherry.