Why India needs to try out Rohit Sharma as a Test opener?
Rohit Sharma is one of the modern greats of ODI cricket and has become a world beater with his belligerent batting. India needs to try him out as a Test opener in their next series to fix their opening woes. He deserves to get a place in place in the team in place of the struggling Shikhar Dhawan.
Rohit Sharma has always been regarded as naturally talented. Despite his talent, he had a modest ODI record to show for the first six years of his career. He averaged only 30.43 and scored only two centuries during that period.
In 2013, After being selected as an opener during the ICC Champions Trophy, he turned his batting around and has played many memorable innings since then. He has scored three double centuries in ODI cricket and three T-20 centuries while opening the innings. His selection was a masterstroke by the selectors and has been paying dividends since the last few years.
His Test record is pretty modest though, and he is currently out of favor in Test cricket. He hasn't enjoyed the success in red ball cricket as he has in white ball cricket. I believe that he should be given a chance to prove his mettle in Test cricket while opening the batting, taking into account the batting issues the team has been facing.
He has proved in ODI cricket that he has the temperament to play longer innings and has five scores of over 150 in ODI cricket. His technique is also suited to open the innings for India.
Generally, he is very watchful early on in his innings, which is a sign of a good Test opener. He looks to play as long as he can and explodes at the back end of an ODI inning. He understands the importance of his wicket and of playing such longer innings.
Opening the innings could boost his confidence and he could become a great asset to the Test team. He is an option worth trying out and could well be another masterstroke like in 2013. He has matured a lot during the past five years in ODI cricket and could do justice to the role if given a chance.
