IPL 2020: Hard to fill Lasith Malinga’s boots, says Rohit Sharma

Since the 2011 edition of IPL, Rohit Sharma has opened the batting for more than 10 games in only two editions. Rohit Sharma rose to prominence after opening the batting for India in limited over’s cricket.

Rohit Sharma opened the batting for the whole season last year in IPL. Ahead of the IPL 2020, Rohit Sharma has stated that he will open in the thirteenth edition as well but is open to bat at other positions according to the demands of the team.

“I think I opened the entire tournament last year and will continue to do that even in this year,” Rohit told Hindustan Times.

“I keep all the options open, whatever the team wants, I’m happy to do that. I enjoy batting at the top of the order, I’ve been doing that for a while, I really enjoy that. Even when I play for India, the message from my side to the management is that do no close any doors keep all the options open, I’ll do that here as well,” he said.

Hard to fill Lasith Malinga’s boots: Rohit Sharma

The skipper further stated that the absence of Lasith Malinga is a big blow for the side, adding that it would be tough for other players to fill his boots in the playing eleven. The Hitman, though, also stated that the other bowlers who are likely to replace him in the eleven need not come with any kind of baggage.

“It is hard to fill the boots of Malinga, whatever he has done for Sri Lanka and Mumbai, it’s remarkable. He has been a match-winner for us, whenever we found ourselves in a hard situation, he bailed us out. Unfortunately, he is not part of the team this year, but we have Coulter-Nile, Boult this year and these players will play a crucial role. What Malinga did is uncomparable,”