Rohit Sharma says he is ready to open the innings in Tests

Indian batsman Rohit Sharma has stated that he is ready to open in Tests. Infact he said he can bat at any number the team wants him to bat in Tests. Sharma made this statement in the context of the ongoing India- England Test series in which India’s batting has been abysmal and especially the performance of the openers has been a cause of concern.

Rohit was speaking to the media at a promotional event when he was asked whether he will like to open the innings in Tests. Rohit made the above statement while answering to this question. The right-hand batsman said that so far the team management hasn’t given him a chance to open the innings in Tests but he is ready to bat at any number.

The 31-year-old batsman also stated that he never thought he will open the innings in the shorter format but the opportunity came and it just happened. So, he has kept all options open and he is ready to grab any opportunity that comes in his way.

Drafted in the team as a middle-order batsman, Rohit’s career in international cricket was plagued with inconsistency until 2013. But in 2013 Rohit was asked to open the innings in ODI’s and since then he has become one of the most prolific run-scorers at the international level. From June 2013, only Virat Kohli has scored more runs than Rohit in ODIs. Rohit has amassed 4683 runs at an astonishing average of 56.42 in 94 innings.

But in Tests Rohit has failed to weave the same magic. In 43 Test innings so far, he has scored 1479 runs and three centuries out of which two were scored in his first two Test matches. This failure costed him a place in the side and thanks to the presence of Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli it seems it will be tough for Sharma to find a spot in the middle order.

The performance of India’s three openers Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul has been mediocre so far and hence it will be interesting to see whether the team management offers a chance to Rohit to open the innings in the near future.