'Was told I wouldn't open only after reaching' - Robin Uthappa recalls 2015 Zimbabwe tour

Indian batter and one of the 2007 T20 World Cup heroes, Robin Uthappa, back in the days was known for playing a fearless brand of cricket. He is an elegant stroke-maker, a natural timer of the ball, and also has some big shots in the armoury. His career took off straight away when he played the famous knock of 86 against England on his international debut in 2006 in ODIs.

Uthappa last played for India in July 2015 in Zimbabwe and was back in the country for the recently concluded India tour of Zimbabwe as a broadcaster. He recently opened up about an incident from 2015 – a call from the Indian management, which potentially altered his chances of representing the national team again.

For the Zimbabwe tour in 2015, India sent out a second-string squad, captained by Ajinkya Rahane, and Uthappa was among the players in the squad. He knew that it was going to be his last opportunity to cement his place in the team. Uthappa, who is naturally an opener, said that he was asked to play in the middle order only after arriving in Zimbabwe.

I said ‘oh I’ve got to realign myself’: Robin Uthappa

“I was told I’m gonna be batting down the order only after we reached there (Zimbabwe),” Uthappa said on Sony Sports Network. “I said ‘oh I’ve got to realign myself’ as I was preparing to open the innings.” On that tour, Murali Vijay and skipper Rahane were the openers. 

Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Saba Karim, who was a part of the selection committee during the time, was also part of the Sony Sports Network expert panel at the time. “Yes Robin, we were looking at you as a backup wicketkeeping option,” said Saba Karim. 

Uthappa, on the other hand, did not have a great outing with the bat on the tour, and that turned out to be his last outing in the Indian jersey. He appeared in 46 ODIs and 13 T20Is scoring 934 runs and 249 runs respectively. He was last seen in action in the Indian Premier League (IPL) playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK).