Playing against Australia with Smith and Warner will be different ball game, admits Rohit Sharma

It was under 18 months ago that the Virat Kohli-led Indian side scripted history Down Under, winning their first-ever Test series on Australian soil, downing the home side 2-1. However, the historic win has been downplayed by many experts, citing the absence of both David Warner and Steve Smith as the reason for the win. 

But the duo have since successfully made their comebacks to international cricket and are expected to play a key role for the home side in the four Tests against India this year and Rohit Sharma, who missed the last two months of international action due to a calf injury, admitted that playing Australia will be a completely different ball game altogether with both Smith and Warner in the side.

"I was looking forward to the New Zealand series but unfortunately, an injury (calf muscle) happened at the wrong time," Rohit told India Today on Wednesday.

"I can't wait to go to Australia and play the Test matches there. Australia in Australia with those two guys will be a different ball game.”

Having under-performed in Test cricket up until 2019, Rohit’s red-ball career received a massive boost last year when he was asked to open, and the 32-year-old responded to the call instantly, scoring two centuries and a double ton in his first three Tests as an opener. Reflecting on the move to open, the Mumbaikar revealed that he’d been mentally preparing himself to open the innings for over two years and added that he was always ready for the challenge. Rohit also mentioned the fact that he needed to make a few technical tweaks to his game in order to excel at the top of the order in red-ball cricket.

"I was told you might be opening in Tests as well. It was two years ago. I was preparing myself from then onwards. You wanted an opportunity, everybody wants to be out there in the middle. I wanted to play and not watch the game. When the chance came along, I was ready. There were some technical aspects I needed to be aware of.”