Knew opening was my last opportunity to succeed in Tests, says Rohit Sharma

Team India opener Rohit Sharma smashed an excellent century on Day 3 of the ongoing fourth Test against England, accumulating 127 runs off 256 deliveries. Rohit’s innings comprised of fourteen boundaries and a six. However, the opener admitted that his current success in Test cricket has come after a period of uncertainty. Rohit who hit his first overseas Test hundred on Saturday, stated that being provided the role of an opener back in 2019, presented his last opportunity to make a mark in the longest format of the game.

“Getting the opportunity to open in 2019 was my last chance”

The opener had averaged 39.62 before he took up the role of an opener in November 2019. Rohit has averaged over 58 and smashed five tons, since being promoted to the role of an opener.

“In the back of my mind, I knew this was the last chance for me (Tests), trying another position in the batting order. When the offer came to me to open the batting, I was very much aware of it because the talks were happening within the management at some stage,” said the cricketer following the ton in Oval as quoted by India Today.

“It was my feeling. I thought getting the opportunity in 2019 was my last chance. I don’t know what the team management thought. The team management told me ‘you’ll have a long run when you open the batting’. But I wanted to think that this was it. I wanted to make good use of the opportunity. I had to do whatever it takes for that. Mentally, I was prepared for it and was prepared to take that challenge and see how I can do well up the order. I batted in the middle order before, things didn’t turn out the way I wanted to. I knew this was going to be my last opportunity, trying whatever the management is thinking,” he added.

“When you are playing a sport, you have to take those risks and chances. I would say that I was very much ready for it. It didn’t come to me as a surprise. If I wouldn’t have succeeded, anything could have happened,” stated Rohit.

“Focussed a lot on discipline off the field”

The Team India opener has termed increased discipline in the longest format as a major factor, which he worked hard towards ensuring. Rohit further highlighted spending time in the middle as the most satisfying achievement so far in the Test series against England.

“One-day cricket and Test cricket, there is a massive difference between the two. You need to bring in a lot of stuff to your game, most importantly, discipline. That is something that I focussed a lot on off the field. Discipline is something that I wanted to bring into my batting when I was at the nets, whether it was leaving the balls or playing a solid defence,” said the Team India opener.

“The most pleasing thing is I was able to play 250 balls. If you look at all the Test matches we have played, I have played nearly 100 balls in every innings. That was my goal. I wanted to see how I can stay on the pitch as long as possible because you do know things become easier when you spend time in the middle. Spending time in the middle was the biggest takeaway for me,” concluded Rohit.