World Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma can afford to play the accumulator role and score big hundreds, says Sanjay Bangar

Former Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar reckons Rohit Sharma can afford to play the accumulator role and score big hundreds in the upcoming ODI World Cup. The Indian captain will hold the key for the national team while opening the innings with Shubman Gill.

Rohit has all the experience under his belt and he would want to deliver while batting in the top order. In fact, it has been noticed in the recent past that Rohit is playing aggressively from the get-go in the 50-over version.

Rohit scored an attacking knock of 81 runs off just 57 balls in the third ODI against Australia when they were chasing a huge target of 353 runs. Furthermore, Rohit has amassed 10112 runs in 251 ODI matches at an impressive average of 48.85 and a strike rate of 90.53. The Indian skipper has also scored three double-centuries, the most in the ODI format.

The Indian opener was the highest run-getter in the 2019 World Cup as he had mustered 648 runs in nine matches at an average of 81 and a strike rate of 98, including five centuries.

“I feel the one of an accumulator (what role should he play?). He is someone who has had phenomenal success as an ODI player. And many times that he has scored his hundred, it’s around the 30th over. All those 3 double hundreds that we speak of and rave of so much, the acceleration came toward the last 10-12 overs where he just toys with the bowling,” Bangar told Star Sports.

“So a dangerous Rohit Sharma, if he gets to that 35-over mark, then India is assured of a score of around 350. If he sticks to that sort of a template as I know he is trying to do certain other things, maybe take the game away from the bowlers, but he has got a phenomenal, fearless Shubman Gill, he can afford to play the accumulator which will guarantee that India will get a big total,” he added.

Earlier, Rohit Sharma had acknowledged that he wanted to play aggressively and wanted to set the tone for the team.

”Everyone wants to bat long and score those 150s and 170s. I still want to do that, but it is always nice to do something that you have not done. It only adds up in your list of batting abilities. Unless you do it, you won’t know it.

”I know if I play high-risk shots, I will get out few times but I didn’t bother. This was communicated by me to the management that this is how I want to play.”

India will begin their World Cup campaign against Australia at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on 8th October.

India’s final World Cup 2023 squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah.