It is often said in cricket that opening the innings is a
job best left to specialists. After all, a specialist opener must possess the rare
combination of a different technique and a different mindset to achieve success
at the top of the order.
But the history of one-day cricket is replete with examples
of players who have made successful transition from middle-order to opening, thereby
quashing the notion that it is a specialised position.
Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mark Waugh, Adam Gilchrist
and many more set new benchmarks in ODI cricket with their explosive and
flamboyant batting, ably showcasing their batting prowess with consistency
hitherto unseen in the game.
While it is true that all these greats came into their
respective teams primarily as middle-order batsman, in most cases circumstances
forced them to get converted to openers-possibly as a last resort to save their
promising careers.
A case in point is Rohit Sharma. His recent success , albeit
as an opener in ODI's has once again shown how someone with a sound technique
and temperament can resurrect his career by switching atop the order.
Thrust
into the opener's role, he was instrumental in helping the team win the
Champions Trophy and the tri-series in the West Indies. He was the second
highest run-getter for India in the ICC event with 177 runs at 35.40 and the
top scorer in the West Indies with 217 runs at 54.25.
When Sharma burst on
to the international scene as a member of M S Dhoni's Twenty-20 World Cup winning squad back in 2007, critics
quickly labelled him as the potential successor to Rahul Dravid. Things,
however did not unfold that way.
Despite being one of India's most talented cricketers, the
Mumbaikar soon became an epitome of inconsistency. So frequent were his flashes
of brilliance combined with a flatter-to-deceive-act, that he allowed some of
his contemporaries to steal a march on him as he continued to struggle for a
spot in the Indian team.
Although being given a long rope, Sharma had made just 1949
runs in 83 matches at a disappointing average of just a shade over 30, prior to
his stint as an opener.
It was only in January 2013, when the team management
frustrated with his inconsistencies decided to gamble with him at the top of
the order, providing possibly the last ray of hope to revive his largely
unfulfilled career.
And, he grabbed it with both hands, scoring a
stroke-filled 83 off only 93 balls to
set up a series-clinching victory for the Men-in-Blue.
Sharma's track record as an opener speaks volume of his
talent and he has been quoted as saying "From the point of view of consistency, this
has certainly been the best phase as an international cricketer. I am enjoying
my new role as an opener. That I have been successful and my contribution has
helped the team's cause makes it even more satisfying. I am hoping to keep up
the good work."
While Sharma has a lot to prove before being considered in
the same breath as his more illustrious predecessors who had successfully
converted as openers, 2013 might well be his year. Rohit Sharma may just have
woken up from his slumber to play a long innings. After all, he is too good a
player to not come good for India.
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