India vs Bangladesh: Rohit Sharma hints at changes in playing XI in 2nd T20I

Cricket is a very unique sport. Each format has its own challenges. And, what might work for one can’t possibly be the same for the other format. India’s opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, unfortunately, come in this category. And, Rohit Sharma, despite him taking a few balls to eventually get going, is indispensable in any white-ball cricket.

The guy constantly juggles with Virat Kohli for the numero uno spot as far as most runs in T20I cricket is concerned, has two hundred and is the most-capped Indian player (Rajkot T20I will be his 100th). So, you know where the problem lies – Shikhar Dhawan.

If you calculate the intersection of performances in both forms of white-ball cricket- ODI and T20- most often than not, it will turn out to be a null set. Barring 2018 where the southpaw racked up 650+ runs, Dhawan’s fortune has cut a sorry tale in T20I cricket.

Sunday’s game was another vindication of India’s outdated style of play in this format. The left-hander has three 30+ scores in his last three innings but it is his strike-rate that has a source of contention; an issue further compounded and exposed courtesy Rohit’s lean run in recent T20Is.

Rohit Sharma weighs in on the change in approach

So, leading into the second game at Rajkot, which is expected to be a flat pitch, all eyes on the Indian top-order and their approach in the powerplay overs. Speaking to the media ahead of the game, the Indian captain seemed hopeful that his batsman will analyze the pitch and bat according to the needs of the situation.

“Our batting looks good. So I don’t think there’s any change we need to make in our batting. But we’ll analyze the pitch, and based on that we’ll see what we can do as a team,” Rohit said at the pre-match press conference as quoted by India Today.

Rohit also hinted about the much-talked-about out-dated approach in T20Is, especially while batting first. In the five matches where India have batted first this year, their strike-rate of 119.50 is behind the likes of Malaysia, Ireland, Namibia, Singapore, PNG, Netherlands, and Jersey, to name a few.

“I cannot tell you strategy but what I can definitely tell you is that there will be changes in our approach. In the last match (in New Delhi), we played according to the pitch. We were playing as per the ways the pitch was reacting. But if the pitch here (at Rajkot) is good, our approach will be different as well in both bowling and batting (departments),” Rohit said.

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