In the first ODI against West Indies, Rohit Sharma batted at No.7. It was back in 2011 against South Africa that he last batted in this slot. Here, we take a look at the playing XI when Rohit Sharma last batted at No.7 in ODIs.
It is important for the Indian batters to get some game time ahead of ODI World Cup. Hence, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had to come lower down in the batting order.
Openers: M Vijay and Sachin Tendulkar
M Vijay and Sachin Tendulkar were the openers in the playing XI when Rohit Sharma last batted at No.7 in ODIs. It was in preparation for the 2011 ODI World Cup and Vijay was one of the backups for Sehwag. Gautam Gambhir was also not available and hence, Vijay and Sachin opened the batting here. While Sachin is the mentor of Mumbai Indians, M Vijay recently retired from the game.
Middle-Order: Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni (C&WK), Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma
Virat Kohli was already being groomed for the No.3 role and the middle-order consisted of MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina, as well. Rohit Sharma was not in great form at that time and he was also getting fewer opportunities while batting in the lower middle-order. Eventually, he missed out on the spot in the Indian Team for the 2011 WC. While Virat, Dhoni and Rohit are still active, Raina has retired and is exploring opportunities in other T20 leagues and business.
All-Rounders: Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh was the all-rounder in the playing XI when Rohit Sharma last batted at No.7 in ODIs. Although Yuvi’s form was not great, considering his calibre, he was being backed. He did well in this game and later, as we all know, he became the Player of the Series in the 2011 WC. Yuvi is also retired from the sport. He participates in a few T20/T10 leagues outside India.
Bowlers: Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Munaf Patel
India had a settled bowling attack back then. While Harbhajan Singh led the spin attack, Zaheer Khan was the leader of the pace unit. Ashish Nehra was the experienced option in the attack while Munaf, who did well in this particular game, also made it to the 2011 WC squad. Bhajji is into politics and Zaheer is in the Mumbai Indians management. Nehra is the coach of Gujarat Titans while Munaf is usually seen on TV shows as an expert and also participates in a few T20/T10 leagues outside India.
