Rohit back to CT, where the ODI opener was born

Having reinvented his batting template, the India captain is expected to stick to his high scoring tempo

- Rasesh Mandani

MUMBAI: Between his debut in 2007 and January 2013, Rohit Sharma played 86 ODIs and scored 1978 runs at an average of 30.43. Ordinary numbers for a batter of his talent. And many fans would ask for his axing on a regular basis.

Then, MS Dhoni decided that having Rohit bat lower down the order (at No.6) was a waste. So just ahead of the 2013 Champions Trophy, the skipper asked the right-hander from Mumbai to start opening the innings.

"I believe the decision to open in ODIs changed my career and it was a decision taken by Dhoni. I became a better batsman after that," Rohit said in 2017.

"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 the cut and pull shot well, you have the qualities to succeed as an opener," Rohit added. "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."

If there is one moment that can be described as game-changing, it was this. In the 182 matches since, Rohit has scored 9010 runs at an average of 56.66 with 30 hundreds. He became one of the most feared batters in the format, and the form even led to him earning a place in Test cricket and then becoming India's all-format skipper.