“Like Second Birth”: Rohit Sharma Reveals How Virat Kohli, Ravi Shastri Revived His Test Career

File image of Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri© AFP

India registered a memorable 2-0 clean sweep against Bangladesh in a two-match Test series. In the rain-hit second Test in Kanpur, Rohit Sharma and co maintained their dominance and thrashed Bangladesh by seven wickets on Tuesday. Due to rain and wet outfield, Day 2 and Day 3 of the match got abandoned without a ball being bowled. Despite that, Team India produced a stellar performance and claimed a victory in the second session on Day 5 as they chased down the target of 95 with seven wickets in hand.

It was India’s 18th consecutive Test series win at home. Under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, the Indian team has reach new heights. Recently, during an interaction with renowned commentator Jatin Sapru, Rohit made some surprising revelations.

Rohit expressed his gratefulness towards former India head coach Ravi Shastri and star batter Virat Kohli for pushing him as the opening batter in Test cricket. He went on to term this as his “second birth” in Tests.

“In the second innings, I was very grateful to Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli for giving me the opportunity to bat up the order. It wasn’t an easy decision to promote me in Tests. They trusted me. They asked me to play one practice match, which I did. I got out on the very first ball, but I realized that I didn’t have any other choice. It felt like a second birth in Test cricket. I knew I had to grab this opportunity, whether it meant opening, batting at No. 5 or 6, or even lower down the order,” Rohit told Sapru on his YouTube channel.

While @ImRo45 Rohit’s legacy in test cricket is being discussed – Here’s a little story of his comeback into test cricket .. Also a sneak peek into how @RaviShastriOfc and @imVkohli planned India’s ascendancy in tests. pic.twitter.com/LO0jVtqP7O

— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) October 1, 2024
“My response to them was clear: I’ll play my natural game and won’t take the pressure of trying to survive. I’m going to play freely. If the ball is there, whether it’s the first ball of the Test or not, I’m going to hit it. They gave me the freedom to do what I wanted. Ravi Bhai was very eager for me to open in Tests for a long time. He told me in 2015 that I should consider it as an option. He wanted me to open, but the decision wasn’t in my hands,” he added.

After the successful completion on the Tests, India will be taking on Bangladesh again in a three-match T20I series, starting from October 6 in Gwalior.

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