Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra believes Rohit Sharma needs to make the most of his chances whenever he plays in the ODI format. Rohit was unfortunately run out after scoring a run-a-ball 16 against Afghanistan at Dharamshal on Saturday.
Rohit scored two fours and one six and he was looking good before he was run out as Shubman Gill was stuck behind the bowler. Chopra recalled that earlier Rohit used to get run out while running between the sticks with Virat Kohli and the latter used to win the game for the country or vice-versa.
“Since you are a one-format player, the chances, which used to come frequently, come occasionally now. So, it’s not like you are playing cricket every day for India, and therefore, you need to hit the ground running. He was actually batting decently, but then he got run out,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“He got run out for the first time after 2019, and I was reminded of Kohli. He used to get run out with Kohli, and the day he used to get run out with Kohli, Kohli used to go after finishing the match, or the other way round. We have seen this earlier. Here, Shubman Gill finished the match,” he added.
Chopra hailed Rohit Sharma for completing 16000 International runs as an opener for India.
“Although Rohit Sharma scored only 16 runs, you need to realize how big an achievement this is. 16,000 international runs as an opener, and he wasn’t a natural opener. That makes the story interesting in itself. He was a middle-order batter and was almost about to lose his place there. The captain said, ‘Let’s try one more time,’” he said.
The renowned commentator praised MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli for promoting Rohit Sharma as opener.
“MS Dhoni was the captain there, and Duncan Fletcher was the coach. The story as an opener started there. Again, that is just one-day cricket. Even in Test cricket, he was playing in the middle order and was about to get dropped. Virat Kohli was the captain there, and Ravi Shastri was the coach alongside him, and then he again became an opener,” Chopra observed.
The second ODI between India and Afghanistan will be played at Lucknow on Wednesday.
