New Delhi:
For Rohit Sharma, the New Year has given him plenty of joy. The Indian right-hander missed the Sydney Test against Australia as he had flown back home to welcome the birth of his baby daughter. On Thursday, Rohit shared an adorable post on his social media accounts and gave a glimpse of his new-born child with the caption, “Hello World! Let’s all have a great 2019”. Before leaving for India, Rohit had told in an interview to former Australia skipper Michael Clarke that he could not wait to become a father, saying it would be a moment that would change their lives. Rohit married Ritika Sajdeh in December 2015.
Rohit, who did not contribute much in the Adelaide Test, scored a gritty fifty on a tough Melbourne wicket as India won the match by 137 runs to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the series. With the win in Melbourne, India retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and are on course to become the first Asian side to register a Test series win in Australia. Rohit will be back with the Indian team on January 8 ahead of the three-match ODI series against Australia starting on January 12.
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The Indian batsman, who is a three-time IPL winner for Mumbai Indians and has captained the Indian cricket team to wins in the Asia Cup and in the Nidahas Trophy tri-series in Sri Lanka, holds several records in ODIs. He holds the record for the highest individual score in this format, blasting 264 against Sri Lanka in Kolkata in 2014. Rohit is the only batsman in history to hit three double centuries in ODIs, having smashed 209 and 208 against Australia and Sri Lanka in Bengaluru and Mohali respectively in 2013 and 2017.
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Rohit has been touted as a permanent captain in the near future and not as a stop-gap arrangement in Virat Kohli’s absence. When India won the Asia Cup in September 2018, Rohit was more positive of a leadership role in the near future. “We have just won so I will surely be ready (for captaincy). Whenever the opportunity comes, I will be ready,” Rohit said at that time.
Following the three-match ODI series, India then embarks on a tour to New Zealand where they will play five ODIs and three Twenty20 Internationals. After that, a five-match ODI series is slated to be played against Australia at home following which the Indian Premier League will take place followed by the World Cup which will be played in England in 2019.
