‘It was my debut actually’ – Rohit Sharma explains why he played at no.7 in 1st ODI against West Indies

India recorded a five-wicket win in the first ODI against West Indies to kick off their preparations for the ICC World Cup 2023 on Thursday, July 28. The spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja shone with combined seven wickets to bowl out West Indies’ innings on just 114 runs and then Ishan Kishan’s fifty dragged India to a successful chase after losing five wickets.

It was not a convincing win for the Men in Blue as they took this opportunity to test their batting order. With the likes of KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, and Rishabh Pant missing out, the management decided to overhaul their batting order at the Kensington Oval.

Fans were a little shocked to see Ishan Kishan opening an innings with Shubman Gill ahead of skipper Rohit Sharma. Fans were wondering if Virat Kohli will bat at the number three position when India lost Shubman Gill early. But in another surprise, Suryakuamr Yadav walked in to bat at the no.3 position ahead of Kohli and Rohit.

India also promoted Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, and Shardul Thakur ahead of Rohit and Virat. But West Indies spinners forced Rohit to leave the dressing room with Shardul’s wicket. Rohit came to bat at the no.7 position ahead of Kohli and finished the game by smashing a four off Gudakesh Motie in the 23rd over.

After the game, Rohit revealed that the management was looking to give playing minutes to newcomers, who were not part of the recent Test series against West Indies.

“We said that we wanted to give a chance to the guys. Never thought we’d lose five wickets but it was a good chance to give a chance to a lot of the guys who have just come in,” Rohit said during a post-match presentation.

Notably, Rohit made his ODI debut back in June 2007 against South Africa while batting at the no.7 position. When asked about his debut in 2007, Rohit said that he remembers his debut and praised debutant Mukesh Kumar also. “It was my debut actually, Mukesh has been brilliant. Even in Tests, we saw he can swing the new ball, has a bit of pace and is quite consistent as well,” Rohit said.

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