‘Not a permanent thing’: Rohit Sharma reacts to decision to let Rishabh Pant open innings in 2nd ODI vs WI

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma opened up on the decision to send Rishabh Pant to open the innings in the second of the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series against West Indies that India won by 44 runs. 

Rohit led Team India clinched the series after defeating West Indies with an all-around performance on Wednesday (February 9) at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. 

After Suryakumar Yadav’s 64 off 83, pacer Prasidh Krishna emerged as a hero whose four-wicket haul helped India bowl out visitors for 193 inside 46 overs as hosts defended the modest total of 237-9. 

ALSO READ | Rohit Sharma praises match-winning star Prasidh Krishna; pacer says ‘have been putting in the hard yards’

During the post-match presentation, the Indian skipper weighed in on the decision to let Pant open the innings. Sharma said it was a “one-off experiment”. 

He said, “I have been asked to try different things, so that was something different (on Pant opening). We wanted to try it one game and is not a permanent thing.”

“Shikhar should be back for the next game. We don’t mind losing a few games while trying out a few things. Because it is important to look at the long term goals. We will see what works out well for the team combination (for the final ODI),” he added. 

ALSO READ | Virat Kohli should don captaincy hat again: Harbhajan Singh urges Indian star to lead RCB in IPL 2022

Rohit also said that there were some challenges produced by Windies batters but the entire unit came out and bowled superbly. 

“Obviously winning the series is a good feeling. There were some challenges. The partnership between Rahul and Surya had a lot of maturity. We got to a respectable total in the end. We knew we could fight it out. The entire unit came out and bowled superbly,” he said.