Current India captain Rohit Sharma‘s white-ball career took a massive U-Turn after he started opening the batting in 2013. In 2019, Sharma finally got his opportunity to open the innings in Test matches as well and he yet again proved why he is one of the bests in that position. Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar even gave him a nickname after the same.
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Indian openers KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan were out of favour in the format due to poor form ahead of India’s international home season in 2019. The first Test against South Africa was played at Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy International Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. Sharma opened the innings with batter Mayank Agarwal.
It was the first time both of them were opening together, but the way they played was remarkable. They added just 317 runs for the first wicket in just 82 overs. Sharma scored 176 (244) with the help of six sixes and 23 boundaries. He made the opening place his own and is still India’s main opener in the red-ball format.
Shoaib Akhtar Once Gave a Nickname to Rohit Sharma After His Test Century as Opener
After Sharma’s incredible innings, Akhtar posted a video on YouTube where he gave a byname to him. He had asked Sharma to put a ‘G’ ahead of his name where ‘G’ stands for Great. Akhtar even claimed that he recognized Sharma’s potential in 2013 only. He asked Sharma to play with the mindset that he is the best player in the world.
“I had asked Rohit to add a G, for Great before his name (Great Rohit Sharma) and play in the manner going in with the mindset that he is the best batsman in India,” Akhtar said in the video.
Akhtar compared Sharma to modern greats like former India captain Virat Kohli and former Australian captain Steve Smith. The Rawalpindi Express was thrilled that Sharma continued to play in his naturally aggressive manner.
Sharma has faced Akhtar just once in international cricket in an ODI match. He scored 11 runs in six balls with the help of a couple of boundaries.
Rohit Sharma Test record by batting positions
| Batting Position | Innings | Runs | Average | 100 | 50 |
| Opening | 36 | 1794 | 52.76 | 6 | 4 |
| 3 | 5 | 107 | 21.40 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | 1 | 4 | 4.00 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 16 | 437 | 29.13 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | 25 | 1037 | 54.58 | 3 | 6 |
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