Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra believes Rohit Sharma entered the golden phase of his career after 2013. Rohit was promoted as an opener before the 2013 Champions Trophy by former skipper MS Dhoni and since then he hasn’t looked back.
Rohit scored 177 runs in five matches at an average of 35.40 in the Champions Trophy and played a key role in taking India to glory. Since then, Rohit has performed consistently for India, especially in the white-ball formats.
“Rohit’s starting years in international cricket were like a rollercoaster. His talent was evident but he couldn’t convert his starts into big scores. He had a big setback in 2011 when Rohit was left out of the ICC World Cup squad. It was a devastating moment for Rohit. A pivotal moment in Rohit Sharma’s career was when he was opening with Shikhar Dhawan in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
The renowned commentator added the opening slot gave Rohit freedom to play his natural game and he was able to get the best out of himself.
“Opening gave him the freedom to play his natural game and Rohit’s career started soaring from there. Rohit entered the golden phase of his career after 2013. Rohit became the most prolific batter in limited-overs cricket. He was recognized for his ability to play long innings and accelerate. Rohit’s ability to shift gears during his innings has become legendary,” the former India opener added.
Meanwhile, Rohit kicked off his Test career with a brilliant 177 on debut against the West Indies but couldn’t come up with more consistent performances, especially while playing in foreign conditions. However, Rohit was able to turn the tables on the previous tour of England as he delivered as an opener after proving his mettle in India against South Africa.
“He made a fabulous Test debut as well. It was at the Eden Gardens ground against the West Indies. He scored 177 runs on his debut and then an unbeaten 111 in Sachin’s (Tendulkar) final Test at the Wankhede. However, Rohit had to struggle a lot to cement his place after scoring those twin centuries. Till October 2016, he hadn’t scored a century for 34 innings, barring the first two ones,” he observed.
“After that, the limited-overs label was put on him. In October 2019, Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri made up their mind to try Rohit as an opener for the first time. He scored twin centuries against South Africa in Vizag, then smashed 212 runs in the third Test, and cemented his place. In 2021, he gave fantastic performances against England away from home as an opener and he was made the Test captain in February 2022,” Chopra stated.
Rohit will lead India in the opening Test against Bangladesh in Chennai, starting from September 19.
