“Opening Khelega Kya”: How MS Dhoni Convinced Rohit Sharma To Open In 2013 Champions Trophy

India captain Rohit Sharma and former captain MS Dhoni‘s respective batting promotions are two of the biggest examples of how bold calls are necessary to not let a talent go waste. While former captain Sourav Ganguly had promoted Dhoni to No. 3 in 2005, Dhoni had promoted Sharma to the opening role. In the latest episode of Kutti Stories With Ash, ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin revealed how Dhoni asked Sharma to open the innings during ICC Champions Trophy 2013.

While Ganguly had done the same at a very early stage in Dhoni’s international career, Dhoni had sent Sharma to the top of the order on a permanent basis around six years after his international debut. At the time, Sharma was averaging 30.43 across 81 ODI innings before Dhoni asked him in what turned out to be a career-changing call.

How MS Dhoni Convinced Rohit Sharma To Open In 2013 Champions Trophy

India, whose last ODI before 2013 Champions Trophy was a home fixture against England, had opened the batting with former batter Gautam Gambhir and Sharma. Opening the batting for the first time since doing it for the first time in the format during India’s tour of South Africa 2011, the latter had scored 83 (93) and 4 (9) across a couple of outings.

With Gambhir scoring 161 runs across eight innings at an average of 20.12 in Pakistan and England ODIs (his last eight ODIs), he was left out from the Indian squad for the world event which vacated a position at the top.

Hence, the selectors picked the duo of Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay as openers for the Champions Trophy. While they opened the batting in both the warm-up matches before the tournament, neither of them was able to leave a mark against Sri Lanka and Australia.

Sharma, meanwhile, batted in the middle-order yet again without a significant contribution across two innings. However, what changed Dhoni’s mind was Dinesh Karthik, making a comeback into the ODI squad after three years, scoring consecutive centuries at No. 6.

Originally selected as a reserve wicket-keeper batter, Karthik sealed the spot of a specialist middle-order batter. As a result, Dhoni pushed Sharma to open the innings with Dhawan in the first match of the tournament. The rest, as they say, is history.

Discussing alongside legendary broadcaster Harsha Bhogle on his YouTube channel, Ashwin expressed delight around Sharma, who was dropped from India’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 squad, but is leading the team in a home World Cup at the moment.

“So, there was a warm-up game. What happened was that Murali Vijay was the designated opener. He batted in the games but didn’t make runs. And Dinesh Karthik walked in at No. 5 [6] and made two hundreds. And they didn’t know what to do. So, MS [Dhoni] called Rohit [Sharma] and said, ‘Opening khelega kya?’ [Will you open]. And Rohit says haan [Yes].”

Gautam Gambhir Wants Rohit Sharma To Back Youngsters Like MS Dhoni

Gambhir, who had expressed mutual respect for Dhoni ahead of IPL 2022, recently credited him for supporting Sharma when he was going through a very rough phase.

An active commentator with Star Sports Network nowadays, Gambhir took to the platform during Asia Cup 2023 last month to suggest Sharma in following Dhoni’s footsteps when it comes to backing youngsters. Sharma, who has broken quite a lot of batting records, wouldn’t have been able to do so had Dhoni not changed his batting position. Gambhir opined how this very trait would decide Sharma’s legacy as an Indian captain.

“MS [Dhoni] backed him continuously in his initial struggling phase. If he wants to leave a legacy behind, not in terms of runs but as a captain, a lot will depend on how he backs the young players. It will be interesting to see how he grooms the upcoming players.”

Readers must note that Sharma has always been loved by younger Indian cricketers. Several comparatively less experienced teammates such as Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, etc. have all praised Sharma for his welcoming nature. That said, it remains to be seen if he will back any player in the way Dhoni backed him during his tenure or not.