Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has said he will continue to open the batting for the team in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 but is open to any changes should the team management take a call. Speaking at a virtual press conference, Rohit said, “I opened in the entire tournament last year and I will continue to do that. 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 have been doing it for a while.”
However, Rohit also said he is open to any changes that the team management deems fit. “Even when I play for India, the message from my side to the management has always been the same – that do not close any doors, keep all the options open,” Rohit said. “I will do the same here as well.”
Mumbai have Quinton de Kock, Chris Lynn and Suryakumar Yadav has potential opening batsman in the squad and given Rohit's experience of batting at No. 4 in previous IPL seasons, there had been a possibility of the captain pushing himself down the order.
Head coach Mahela Jayawardena had also confirmed that Mumbai will stick with Rohit as opener. "Having options is always great. Chris Lynn is a great addition to the squad but the combination of Rohit and Quinton has been there for us, last season they complement each other well," Jayawardena said.
"It has been very consistent and both are well experienced cricketers. I always feel 'why fix something that ain't broken'. So we will continue to go with that but having Lynn as an option gives us flexibility in the squad," he added.
Rohit is the third highest scorer in IPL with 4898 runs from 188 matches. He scored 405 runs from 16 games last season in Mumbai's title-winning campaign.
Mumbai have won the IPL a record four times – 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019 – under Rohit's leadership. They begin their title defence on September 19 with the IPL 2020 opener against Chennai Super Kings.