Rohit Sharma discloses his batting position for IPL 2019: Mumbai Indians captain will bat at a new batting position in IPL 2019.
Indian Premier League franchise Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has finally agreed to bat at a different position during the imminent season of the IPL. Over his 11-year long IPL career, Sharma usually batted in the middle-order.
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During the pre-season press conference in Mumbai, Sharma himself disclosed that he will be opening the batting for MI throughout this season.
In the recent seasons for the Indians, Sharma had taken care of the No. 4 position, a platform from where he could take control of the innings depending on the situation. Not that he hasn’t even opened the batting in the IPL of late, but those instances were very few and far between.
Being arguably the best opening batsmen in limited-overs cricket in the last five years, it was always strange to watch Sharma bat down the order for his IPL franchise. While he mostly did it for the team’s sake, there was a general opinion that the team would benefit more with Sharma facing the new ball.
With the decision being made now, Indians look a more formidable squad for the more balls Sharma will face, the better it is likely to be for MI. In the 14 matches he played last season, Sharma scored 286 runs at an average of 23.83 and a strike rate of 133.02.
“Indian players in the side need to step up”
Other than talking about his batting number, Sharma also laid emphasis on how the Indian players will have to step up the game for Mumbai Indians this season.
“We’ve got a mix of youth and experienced Indian players. Overseas players have played a big part in the past but the onus will be on the 7 Indians playing the side to step up. We need to address small little situations which take the game away. Need to win small little moments to eventually go on the top,” Sharma added.
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