Prepared to take on Australia at their home: Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma

Indian batsman Rohit Sharma has said that the team would be prepared to take on the Australian pacers when they tour Down Under later this year. Acknowledging that it would be a challenging task, Rohit takes heart from the fact that they have gone through sterner tests in South Africa, New Zealand and England in the last one year and that experience could come in handy.

"Australia will be a challenging tour for us. Mentally, each and every cricketer have a different way of preparing or doing their respective homework for a tour. I am no different and I will also have my plans in place as we come nearer to the time of the tour," the 27-year-old told PTI in an interview.

"Facing the likes of Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris will be a stern test. But we have faced Dale Steyn, More Morkel in South Africa. We have played on bouncy as well as seaming pitches in South Africa, New Zealand and England in the past one year.

"Also, most of us have been to Australia before and know what to expect from pitches out there. Also, it will be a good preparation for us before the World Cup, next year," he added.

Opening the batting changed me as a player

Rohit, who is nursing multiple injuries sustained during the England tour that led to him returning back home midway and subsequently miss the just-concluded Champions League T20 tournament, as well, said that the move to open the batting has benefited him a lot.

He said: “Opening the batting for India changed me as a player. My perspective on building an innings has improved tremendously since I started opening the batting. I believe I have become a better overall cricketer once I started opening the batting.”

On if he would be open for a middle-order role, given that Ajinkya Rahane, who filled in for him during his absence, has shown promise as an opener, he said: “I have loved my role as an opener but I am proud of what Ajinkya has achieved in England. For me, it does not matter which position I am batting as long as I am making a contribution to team’s cause. If I am told to open by the team management, I would humbly accept it and if I told to bat in the middle-order, it will be an equal honour. I have no choices or preferences as far as batting slots are concerned.”