Team India’s is showing good performance in one-day internationals over the past 3 years and has been the scintillating performance of the top order. India’s top three include Shikhar Dhawan, vice-captain Rohit Sharma, and captain Virat Kohli. A look at the individual records of these three players since January 2016, Kohli leads the list with 3599 runs from 54 matches at an average of 89.97. Rohit Sharma has 3083 runs under his belt from the same number of matches at an average of 68.51, Shikhar Dhawan has contributed 2274 runs from 50 matches at an average of 49.43.
This clearly shows the impact the duo of Kohli and Rohit have had on the fortunes of the Indian team. When Rohit and Kohli fire, India invariably go on to win the match. But a look at Rohit Sharma’s record closely in bilateral series in the SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) countries show a lack of consistency, which could be disconcerting, given India play the World Cup in England in a few months where they will face all the top teams.
Rohit has a below par record in countries like New Zealand and South Africa and a good show in the backyard of the Kiwis could go a long way in giving confidence to the team management. If runs flow freely from the bat of India’s vice-captain, it will bring down the pressure on the likes of Virat Kohli and even MS Dhoni, and that could just be the world cup clincher for the ‘Men in Blue’.
