Rohit Sharma Urges Top Order to Deliver Big Scores Ahead of Champions Trophy Campaign
As India gears up for their Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh, captain Rohit Sharma has made his expectations clear—he wants his top-order batters to convert starts into big scores if the team is to challenge for the title.
Rohit addressed the media on Wednesday, emphasizing the importance of consistent, high-scoring performances from his experienced top four, which includes Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer. While India recently swept England 3-0 in their ODI series, Rohit believes that replicating such batting dominance will be crucial in the tournament.
“Your top three, four, or five batters need to take responsibility,” Rohit said. “When they get set, they must push on for a big hundred because that’s what allows you to post 300-plus scores consistently.”
In the England series, India’s only innings batting first yielded 356 runs, showcasing their potential. However, Rohit noted that while several players, including himself, Kohli, and Iyer, got starts, none consistently went on to play match-defining innings.
A key figure in India’s top order will be Shubman Gill, who enters the tournament as vice-captain and fresh off winning Player of the Series against England, where he amassed 259 runs, including a century and two half-centuries.
Rohit backed Gill to shine in the Champions Trophy, brushing aside concerns over the opener’s poor run in India’s recent Test series defeat in Australia, where he managed just 93 runs in five innings.
“Gill is a special talent. We shouldn’t mix formats,” Rohit said. “What happened in Australia was red-ball cricket. In white-ball cricket, Gill has been outstanding for us over the past three to four years, and that’s why he is the vice-captain now.”
India will be chasing their first 50-over ICC title since the 2013 Champions Trophy, having fallen short in the 2023 ODI World Cup final on home soil and finishing as runners-up in the 2017 Champions Trophy. Rohit stressed that winning major tournaments is now the team’s top priority.
While the Champions Trophy is officially hosted by Pakistan, India will play all their matches in Dubai due to political tensions between the two nations. After Bangladesh, India will face arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday and conclude their group stage against New Zealand on March 2. The top two teams from the group will advance to the semi-finals.
With high stakes and fierce competition, Rohit knows that India’s success will largely depend on their top-order batters delivering match-winning performances on the big stage.
