Rohit Sharma Has To Play A Mentor's Role For Other New Openers Coming In - Saba Karim

Former India wicket-keeper Saba Karim reckons senior opener Rohit Sharma will need to don the mentor’s hat for other less experienced openers in the Indian team on the upcoming Test series against England and further.

Young opener Shubman Gill has been all but ruled out of the 5-Test series and will be returning back home. In his place, Mayank Agarwal, the backup opener will play alongside Rohit Sharma. KL Rahul is another option in the squad, though reports say that he will only be considered for a middle-order role. Abhimanyu Easwaran is in the reserves and could be seen as another option to open if Agarwal fails.

Rohit Sharma has taken a liking to the opening role in Test cricket, just like he did in white-ball cricket. He piled up huge runs at home in his first essay as a Test opener. Though he hasn’t scored any big runs away so far, the ability and potential he has shown in Australia and in in the WTC final in England make for promising returns in the future.

“Talking to him [Rohit] is very necessary as he has to play a mentor’s role for the other new openers coming in. The conditions are tough there for batting and if you have an opening partnership there and your top-order clicks, you create a brilliant platform to put up a big score,” Saba Karim said on India News.

“Rohit Sharma has got a different role for Team India in the last one to one-and-a-half years. I feel they have made a core group of leaders, where captain Virat Kohli is right at the top, after that vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and after that definitely if someone’s name comes, it is Rohit Sharma,” he added.

In his elegance, Rohit Sharma is the best batsman in the world: Reetinder Sodhi

Another former India cricketer, Reetinder Sodhi hailed Rohit Sharma as the most elegant batter in the world and marvelled over his match-winning ability.

Sodhi also talked about the Test series against England starting next month; he reckons India will depend a lot on the trio of Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Virat Kohli.

“A lot here depends on Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara – how these three batsmen catch form in the upcoming series. We all know that in his elegance, Rohit Sharma is the best batsman in the world,” Reetinder Sodhi said. 

“He was definitely struggling in Test cricket if we talk about sometime back but now he has stamped his authority in Test cricket. He is a special player as an opener, when he plays he can take the match away for the opposition in a matter of moments.”

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