India captain Rohit Sharma has been someone who’s praised heavily for taking care of the youngsters, be it Indian players or overseas in the Mumbai Indians team.
His latest gesture and decision regarding young Kishan, who made his Test debut in the first Test against West Indies in Dominica, has gone viral, where the fans heaped praise on the Indian skipper.
India dominated the entire Dominica Test throughout, cleaning up West Indies twice inside three days and winning by a massive margin of an innings and 141 runs.
Ishan Kishan made his Test debut in Dominica, replacing KS Bharat in the line-up. In reply to West Indies’ 150 in their first innings, India took a big lead and were 405/5 when Virat Kohli got out. India’s lead was already huge by Kohli’s dismissal time and with rain predicted on Day 5, the declaration was in the offing.
Many would have expected India to declare when Virat Kohli got out. However, Rohit decided to delay the declaration so that Kishan gets to bat and score at least one run on his Test debut. Ishan Kishan came in at number 7 after Kohli’s dismissal.
Kishan, however, didn’t score a run straightaway and played out 19 consecutive dot balls. Then there was some message sent to the batters in the middle, Kishan and Jadeja, from Rohit Sharma. On the 20th delivery he faced, Ishan Kishan took a single to open his account in his Test career, and Rohit immediately declared.
This incident got a lot of chatting up by the fans on social media. Netizens praised Rohit for allowing Kishan to open his account on his Test debut.
India would've declared the inns exactly when Kohli got out but they wanted Ishan to get a chance to bat on debut.
And when Kishan started his Test innings with a run, the captain declared the innings as planned.
Rohit Sharma and his love for the youngsters is unmatchable. pic.twitter.com/gAkncmpb9a
— Vishal. (@SPORTYVISHAL) July 14, 2023
https://twitter.com/12th_khiladi/status/1679904528689430529?s=20
Rohit Sharma is not happy with Ishan Kishan and urged him to score a run on Test debut. pic.twitter.com/Qt4ZSTexrN
— CricketGully (@thecricketgully) July 14, 2023
Why Rohit Sharma declared after Ishan Kishan scored a run?
In the post-match presentation ceremony, Rohit Sharma was asked about Kishan and his declaration after the left-hander scored his first Test run. He said: “I was just letting them know we have an over or so before declaring. I wanted Ishan to get off the mark, wanted to tell him to get his personal mark and then we had to declare. I could see that he was always eager to bat, it could be frustrating for them.”
