According to legendary Indian opener Virender Sehwag, if he had the authority to choose the squad for the 2011 World Cup, he would have included Rohit Sharma in the final 15-man roster.
Rohit was deeply disappointed about not being selected for the squad, especially when players like Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan were chosen instead. Sehwag provided insight into why the team management might have made that decision.
In an interview with Cricbuzz after India’s victory against Afghanistan, here’s what Virender Sehwag had to say about Rohit Sharma:
“If I had been the captain or a selector, I would have surely picked him for the 2011 World Cup. But at that time he was not the Rohit Sharma that he is right now. He was a bit young and at the end of the day, it is the decision of the captain and selectors as to the team balance that they want.
“Maybe that snub motivated him to become more consistent and he realized that he had to score so many runs that he would never miss a World Cup again.”
Virender Sehwag
Sehwag continued on saying:
“You can only select 15 players for a World Cup and at that point, Yusuf Pathan had a couple of crucial innings just before the tournament that is, what maybe worked in his favor and Rohit Sharma had to be left out.”
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag was astounded by Rohit’s performance against Afghanistan, hitting 131 off 84 balls. In response, he stated:
“Rohit Sharma gave a clear message with his innings that score big hundreds even today he scored 30 more runs after getting to his hundred has already scored three double centuries. So it gives the opposition a clear message that if he settles at the crease for a long time, he will not spare you. He mathematically missed the double century even todayL(Laughs).”
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag Shares His Insights on Rohit Sharma’s Success as an Opener
Rohit Sharma’s ascension to opening the batting for India practically coincided with Virender Sehwag’s departure, and the latter lauded him for the way he adjusted to the team’s needs and evolved into a modern-day great.
Sehwag commented on this:
“Rohit became an opener after Virender Sehwag left. They weren’t finding a replacement and MS Dhoni requested Rohit to open the batting since he had a good technique and he could play his shorts.
“Rohit initially hesitated a bit and after a few innings at the top of the order, he did return to the middle order, but eventually, he found a way and became consistent. Now he has more than 10,000 runs and more than 30 ODI hundreds so he is surely a strong pillar of this team.”
Virender Sehwag
During his performance against Afghanistan, Rohit set many milestones, including the most hundreds in ODI World Cup history (7).