India captain Rohit Sharma on Saturday said that the team has not found a finisher since MS Dhoni’s international retirement and going into next year’s ODI World Cup, they are hoping to find one. Rohit was asked how he views the role of a finisher – especially at No. 6 and 7 in the batting order – where he admitted that he needs to build more backup apart from Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja. On the eve of the first ODI against West Indies, Rohit said, “The role of a finisher in ODIs is very important, but since the retirement of MS Dhoni, we haven’t found anyone who can fit in that role.”
“We have tried Hardik, even Jadeja has played but we need to build more back-up for that slot. The boys who will get a chance in the series, hopefully make use of those opportunities And strengthen your position in the team.
“A finisher bats at a crucial stage, and often his contribution can be a game-changer,” the captain said.
Meanwhile, a reporter wanted to ask if Rohit would like the juniors, but the way the question was framed gave him an opportunity to taste the captain’s stoic sense of humour.
Just as you and Shikhar were promoted as openers in the 2013 Champions Trophy, will you bleed juniors as we have had the same pattern over the years? He asked with a nice comment how he “encouraged the juniors”.
“So you are saying that I and Shikhar should be dropped and Ishaan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad should be opened? (So you are saying, I and Shikhar should be dropped and we should open Ruturaj and Ishaan for India) ? Is that what you mean?), he smiled winkingly.
“No, I’m saying that if either of you goes one way we can get the kind of results you got when you were raised up,” the reporter chuckled.
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“Yes, we got the results. But if you are talking about the top three, they have been doing consistently well over the years. Yes, the youngsters will get their share and just like Ishaan is getting the opportunity, so be it. They will continue to meet. Chances are,” he said on a more serious note.
“We have a lot of matches in the future so the batsmen will get their fair share of chances. Shikhar Dhawan batted well in South Africa and now he is down with covid, even Rutu has covid, So Ishaan is getting his chances, so youngsters will get chances but how they utilize it is the real matter.”
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