MS Dhoni reveals what prompted him to try Rohit Sharma as an opener

Former India captain, MS Dhoni, has finally revealed the reason he opted for Rohit Sharma as an opener during 2013 Champions Trophy. As everyone knows, the move was a masterstroke and it surprised one and all at that time. Since then, Rohit has been playing as an opener in the limited-overs format.

The man from Ranchi was at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for fitness tests ahead of the upcoming limited-overs series against Sri Lanka. He opened up on various aspects of the game while he mentored the other players in the academy. The wicketkeeper-batsman stated the importance of thinking out of the box when asked about experimenting Rohit up the order.

“We have to see what others are not seeing. Rohit Sharma is one of the best examples. He accepted that 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 said.

Dhoni backed Rohit during his captaincy tenure

The 36-year-old backed Sharma during his captaincy tenure throughout and was severely criticized for that. Today, the opener’s career has changed completely and has been appointed as the vice-captain for the Sri Lanka series. He also mentioned that a player needs to be given confidence if he is not playing. The same happened with Rohit and he is doing wonders for Indian cricket.

India’s most successful Indian captain said, “Whether he is up to the mark, only his performance will judge that. You can only do that if your other 5-6 batsmen are performing. If you keep losing games, you can’t give games to individuals. If you lose 3-4 games, you have to make a few changes. If you keep playing the same XI then others who are your bench strength won’t get a reality check of what they have on offer. It is slightly complex but what’s easiest and what always works during a series is to give the individual as much confidence as possible,” he added.