India's stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma
India’s stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma on Sunday surpasses compatriot Virat Kohli to once again become the leading run-getter in T20I cricket. He achieved the milestone in the opener of the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. Moving to nine with a four punched down covers, Rohit overhauled Kohli’s record. Meanwhile, the Indian skipper has opted to rest for the T20I series.
Rohit now has amassed 2452 in 91 innings with four centuries and 17 half-centuries. Kohli now stands second with 2450 runs in 67 innings at an average of 50.00 and 22 half-centuries. Kohli had surpassed Rohit back in September during the second T20I against South Africa where he scored an unbeaten 72.
He was eventually dismissed by Shafiul for just nine runs in the final delivery of the very first over when the ball struck plumb on his upper pad in line with the middle stump.
Earlier in the day, Rohit surpassed former Indian skipper MS Dhoni to become the most capped Indian player in T20Is. Playing his 99th match in the format in the opener against Bangladesh, Rohit went past Dhoni's tally of 98. He now stands second in the all-time list alongside former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi. Pakistan's Shoaib Malik stands atop with 111 appearances for his country.
Talking about the match, Bangladesh won the toss and skipper Mahmudullah opted to bowl first. For India, Rohit announced that Shivam Dube would make his debut in the match.
“We would have bowled first as well considering the dew factor here. Our record chasing is good as well. Nevertheless, we want to change ourselves, that has been a concern over the years. Batting first and defending it later. The pitch looks slightly sticky, we need to assess and see what a fighting score will be. We have to win every game, we have to look forward to build a team. This gives us an opportunity to test out few players from the domestic circuit, they have done well. It's their best chance to grab the opportunity. We are trying to stick with the same combination that we have had in this part of the world. We have three spinners, two medium pacers and we have the debutant Shivam Dube who gives us the extra choice in the middle where he can bowl few overs,” said Rohit.
