India captain Rohit Sharma was made to open the innings in the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, and the rest is history. Even Sharma has credited former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni for reviving his career. Sharma has been the backbone of the Indian batting since then as an opener.
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Having made his debut in 2007, Sharma struggled for six years before being a permanent member of the Indian team. Ahead of the Champions Trophy in June, Sharma had opened in a couple of home ODIs against England in January. He opened in a few matches earlier as well, but was always a gap filler. Sharma opened the innings alongside fellow Indian batter Shikhar Dhawan in the Champions Trophy, and they took the tournament by storm.
Sharma has now scored a total of three double-hundred in ODIs. He is now the captain of the Indian side in all three formats of the game. It is certain that Dhoni’s masterstroke proved to be quite successful for Indian cricket.
MS Dhoni once revealed why he tried Rohit Sharma as an opener in ICC Champions Trophy 2013
MS Dhoni used to be India’s captain back then, and it was his call to promote Sharma as an opener. In an interaction with NCA students, Sharma had once revealed the thinking behind that decision. He said that Sharma accepted the challenge to open in difficult English conditions, and he proved his class.
Dhoni had insisted that sometimes some bold decisions are needed to win a big tournament. He revealed that Sharma’s talent was for everyone to watch out for. Dhoni was adamant that he wanted to play Sharma in the Playing XI even if he had to change his batting position for the same.
“We have to see what others are not seeing. Rohit Sharma is one of the best examples. He accepted the challenge of becoming an opener. In limited-overs, he is one of the best openers who is playing right now. You have to at times think out of the box. We were like the amount of talent this guy has, I have to make him play. For that, if I have to make him an opener, I will do it,” Dhoni had said.
Rohit Sharma was fourth highest run-scorer of ICC Champions Trophy 2013
Team India did not lose a single game in the tournament. Apart from the final, they won all of their matches single-handedly. The final was a 20-over per side affair due to rain, and pacer Ishant Sharma’s spell turned the game in favour of the Indian side.
Sharma was the fourth-highest run-scorer of the tournament. He scored 177 runs at an average of 75.96 with the help of two half-centuries and made the opening position his own. The half-centuries came against South Africa (65) and West Indies (52).
