Rohit determined to regain opening berth

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Indian batsman Rohit Sharma is determined to get his place as opener back from Ajinkya Rahane, saying his finger injury is nearly fully healed and he looks forward to the competition with his replacement.

Rohit picked up the injury while playing in England, and Rahane has done a solid job as his replacement, scoring two 40s and a century in England as India won the ODI series three-one.

Rohit told DNA on Thursday: “Competition will always be good for the game. Guys will try harder and produce good results.

“Personally, I am not even thinking (about competition) as I have a lot of other things to do like get fit first and work my way back onto the field.

“Finger is fine. I am feeling well. It’s almost 70-80% healed. It is in the last stage of healing. I am going to start gripping my bat from tomorrow (Friday).”

He said that opening the batting was a challenge for him because he was forced to focus on all areas of his game, and enjoyed having to think harder than he would in the middle order, where quick runs were required.

He added: “As an opener, you have to be a little more cautious with the two new balls moving around. The ball does quite a bit. While opening, you have to be extra focused.

“Being cautious has helped my batting. It’s not that when you bat in the middle order, there is no challenge or you have to be a little less cautious, but opening has helped get the best out of me.”

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