When Ravi Shastri promised to make Rohit Sharma a successful Test batsman

Rohit Sharma has made a name for himself over the years and his record across formats is nothing short of phenomenal. Hailed as a Hitman, the right-handed batter has all the shots in his book and his ability to stay at the crease for long makes him even more effective. Riding on his prowess, Team India has registered numerous sensational wins and the dasher doesn’t seem to have any plans of slowing down.

It has to be noted that Rohit’s fortunes changed after he was made India’s limited-overs opener in 2013. Prior to that, he was a part of the middle-order and wasn’t that effective. However, MS Dhoni decided to promote the swashbuckler up the order and what happened next was hidden from none. Rohit played one sensational knock after another and shattered numerous records.

Although Rohit became a formidable opener in white-ball cricket, he remained at middle-order in Test matches. Consistency was a major issue for him as the talismanic player kept going in and out of the Test team. However, things changed after he was asked to open during the 2019 home Test series against South Africa. Rohit stamped his authority straightaway, slamming three centuries in as many games.

Story behind Rohit Sharma’s rise as a Test opener

While the Hitman continued his stellar show at home, he impressed one and all in overseas Test matches as well. In fact, Rohit is the highest-ranked Test opener at the moment, occupying sixth place. While the batter’s blitzes in the longest format are hidden from none, his meteoric rise as a Test opener has a story.

In the book Mission Domination – An unfinished Quest, written by Boria Majumdar and Kushan Sarkar, it’s revealed how India’s head coach Ravi Shastri was determined to see Rohit thriving in whites. Apparently, Shastri ahead of India’s 2019 home season said that if Rohit doesn’t become a successful Test batter in his tenure, he’ll consider himself a failure.

It won’t be wrong to say that Shastri has achieved his goal with the Mumbai-born cricketer making a mark in the longest format. As of now, the veteran opener is in England for the ongoing five-match Test series against the hosts. Team India is 1-0 up after the first two games and Rohit has been impressive. The third Test gets underway at the Headingly in Leeds on August 25.