11 January,2025 12:20 PM IST | Mumbai | Rohan Koli
India skipper Rohit Sharma celebrates his century during the Asia Cup match against Pakistan in Dubai in 2018. PIC/GETTY IMAGES
Skipper Rohit Sharma, one of India's most reliable batters in limited-over cricket, has struggled in Test matches since last September. However, he will look to put that rough patch behind him and redeem himself during the upcoming ICC ODI Champions Trophy in Dubai starting February 20.
Rohit has an impressive record in Dubai, having scored 317 runs in five ODIs at an outstanding average of 105.66 during India's successful 2018 ODI Asia Cup campaign.
One of the biggest highlights of that tournament was his performance against arch-rivals Pakistan - 52 off 39 balls and an unbeaten 111 off 119 balls. Coincidentally, India will face Pakistan in their second league match. Rohit also scored 83 not out and top-scored for India with 48 in the final against Bangladesh, India's first opponent in their Champions Trophy opener.
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Fans will hope their captain leads by example, especially after his struggles in Test cricket. In his last few Test innings - four against New Zealand at home and five in Australia - Rohit failed to score more than 18 runs. India lost four of those matches, while one ended in a draw.
Despite his struggles in Test cricket, Rohit has been in excellent form in limited-overs cricket this year. He was the top-scorer during the ODI series in Sri Lanka last August, scoring 157 runs in three matches at an average of 52.33. Rohit also finished as India's leading run-scorer during their victorious T20 World Cup campaign in the Caribbean and USA, amassing 257 runs in eight games. Apart from this, he smashed an unbeaten 121 during the T20I series against Afghanistan in Bangalore last January.
Rohit will certainly aim to silence his critics during the multi-nation tournament, by drawing inspiration from his past successes in Dubai.
