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

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Between his debut in January 2013, Rohit played 86 ODIs and scored 378 runs at an average of 56.66, ordinary numbers for a batsman of his talent. And many would ask for his axing on a regular basis.

MS Dhoni decided that Rohit batting lower down the order (at No.6) was a waste. So at the start of the 2013 Champions Trophy, the skipper asked the then opener from Mumbai to open the innings.

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

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 the cut and pull shot well, you have the qualities to be a good opener," Rohit recalled.

"He told me that I shouldn't be scared of failures or be affected by criticism. He was looking at the bigger picture as the 2013 Champions Trophy was played in England that year."

There is one moment that is described as game-changing. It was this. In the 182 innings since, Rohit has scored 29 hundreds. He became one of the most feared batters in the world, and the form even led to him earning a place in the Test team and then becoming a full-format skipper.