XtraTime Web Desk: Rohit Sharma is team man and he proves it by his actions. He didn’t even hesitate before giving away his favourite opening spot to bring stability to the Mumbai Indians middle-order. This year, the MI captain has given a hint that he will start as an opener when the defending champions face Chennai Super Kings in the season opener on September 19. However, it’s important to note that his role might change depending on a certain situation.
Rohit opened for MI in 2019. This year, he is keeping himself ready to bat anywhere based on the demands from the team management.
“I think I opened the entire tournament last year and will continue to do that even in this year,” Rohit said during a virtual press conference organised by the franchise on Thursday.
Rohit clearly enjoys batting at the top. His entire career took an upward turn when he began to open the innings for India in the limited overs cricket.
“I keep all the options open, whatever the team wants, I’m happy to do that. I enjoy batting at the top of the order, I’ve been doing that for a while, I really enjoy that. Even when I play for India, the message from my side to the management is that do no close any doors keep all the options open, I’ll do that here as well,” he said.
In the 2017 and 2018 editions of the IPL, Rohit opened only twice in 30 innings. The move did not turn out well as the dynamic right-hander scored only 333 runs at an average of 23.78 in 2017 – when he did not open in the entire tournament – and 286 runs at an average of 23.83. These two IPL seasons have been Rohit’s worst in terms runs, average and strike-rate.
Rohit’s numbers improved in the last edition when he decided to go back at the top, scoring 405 runs at an average of 28.92.
Last year, Rohit’s opening partner was South Africa wicket-keeper batsman Quinton de Kock. While MI have bolstered their squad with the addition of Australia opener Chris Lynn and they also have Ishan Kishan, who has achieved a lot of success at the top of the order, MI head coach Mahela Jayawardena said they will stick to the Rohit-de Kock combination at the start.
“Having options in the squad is always great Lynn is obvious a great addition. Quinton has been phenomenal for us, his combination with Rohit has really worked. So why fix something when it’s not broke? So we’ll look to continue with that,” Jayawardene said.