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Rohit credits Yuvraj for aggressive approach

India's Rohit Sharma has credited his team-mate Yuvraj Singh for making him a stronger batsman

Cricinfo staff
30-Apr-2010
Rohit Sharma feels ready to take on the cricketing world  •  AFP

Rohit Sharma feels ready to take on the cricketing world  •  AFP

India's Rohit Sharma has credited his team-mate Yuvraj Singh for making him a stronger batsman. Rohit had approached Yuvraj for advice after a slump in form led to his axing from the national side, and believed he had returned a mentally tougher batsman after speaking to his senior.
"When I was dropped, Yuvi paa cited his own example and told me that every cricketer has gone through this phase," Rohit told the espn-star.com. "He advised me to enjoy this period as it can be mentally draining. He is the real force behind my batting."
After being dropped from the Indian side, Rohit did well on the domestic circuit - he was added to the Test squad earlier this year - and finished the 2010 IPL as Deccan Chargers' second highest run-scorer with 404 from 16 games. Rohit said he picked up tips on finishing an innings from his Deccan team-mate Andrew Symonds and coach Darren Lehmann, but stressed that Yuvraj's backing was the most influential. "I have [taken tips from Symonds and Lehmann], but majority of my tricks came from Yuvraj. I don't think anyone apart from Yuvi paa can help me in my batting. He told me that the most important thing as a finisher is to read the situation of the match. He said that you have to think like an opposition captain."
Rohit also spoke of observing Sachin Tendulkar and learning from him. Whenever I have played alongside Sachin paaji he has always emphasised on the body position. He'd always stress that the head should be still," he said. "I have noticed in the IPL and even prior to that that whenever he'd hit a big shot, his body position and head would be extremely still. And if it is not then you can not middle the ball. This is what I have learnt from Sachin paaji, how to keep my head and body still."
Twenty20 forces a batsman to try out new ways to score, and shots such as the paddle and reverse-sweep have been successfully cultivated by some of the game's more audacious strokemakers. For Rohit, though, these came with a fair amount of risk and he preferred sticking to the basics. "I don't like these strokes, I think they are far too risky for me," he said. "I concentrate on playing orthodox strokes and so far most of my runs have come through them. Also, if you look at Sachin paaji's batting in the IPL you'd realise he played hardly any of these strokes."
Rohit admitted his selection for the ICC World Twenty20 had been a bit of surprise, and hoped that he could play a key role again as he had during India's run to the championship in 2007. He felt inconsistency was the reason behind in his irregular appearances for India. "I think I'm not consistent enough. There have been patches where I have been good and at times I have been really bad. Having said that I'd also like to add that I was been constantly shuffled up and down the batting order. One day I was batting at 3, 4 or 5 and other days I was batting at 7 or 8 and in between also opening the innings."
The ideal spot for him, Rohit felt, was in the middle order.