Rohit Sharma’s journey from benchwarmer to Test captain is just because of Virat Kohli’s sacrificeo

 

Virat Kohli’s sacrifice in 2016 paved the way for Rohit Sharma’s inclusion in the third Test match against West Indies. At that time, Rohit was not a regular member of Team India. Fast forward to 2019, and Rohit found himself on the bench for both Test matches against West Indies, despite being in top form and having scored five centuries in the 2019 World Cup.

However, back in 2016, Kohli made the difficult decision to change his own batting position to accommodate Rohit Sharma in the playing XI. This meant dropping Cheteshwar Pujara from the team and having Virat move up to number 3 in the batting order. Ajinkya Rahane batted at number 4, while Rohit came in at number 5.

Kohli explained the decision, stating, “Rohit is in for Pujara. Rohit has been playing very well. He can change sessions in a Test match. Taking nothing away from Pujara who has been rock solid. Everybody needs chances.” Rohit then contributed scores of 9 and 41 in the two innings. India emerged victorious in the Test match, winning by 237 runs and clinching the series 2-0.

Despite this success, Rohit remained an irregular member of Team India for the following three years. However, after the 2019 tour of West Indies, he was given the opportunity to open the batting in Test cricket as well. Rohit has thrived in this role and is now returning to the West Indies in 2023 as the captain of the national team.