Sri Lanka vs India: Fighting for spots does not bother Rohit Sharma - watch video

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New Delhi: Rohit Sharma has not enjoyed the same brilliant run of form in the longest format of the game as he has had in the ODI format. 

Rohit scored three successive half-centuries against New Zealand last year, before his long injury lay-off, but making a comeback into the Indian Test playing XI is not going to be easy.

Team India are set to begin their three-match Test series against Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

The Virat Kohli-led unit suffered a big setback after opener KL Rahul was ruled out due to illness. It makes Rohit a strong replacement candidate to fit into the batting line-up.

In an interview with BCCI.tv, he spoke about shrugging off the disappointment and settling in for the long haul.

“It was disappointing, to be honest, but certain things you cannot control,” said the 30-year-old. 

“I am glad that I could contribute in that Test series win against New Zealand. But then after that, it was a disappointing injury, I had to miss a lot of Test matches. But again, every sportsman goes through that period of missing out on games through injuries and I kept myself motivated throughout those six months.”

Currently, the Indian cricket team have a problem of plenty. There are plenty of options for almost all positions in the batting line-up. 

Cheteshwar Pujara, Abhinav Mukund and Shikhar Dhawan are available to open the innings and Rohit might miss the cut if Ravi Shastri and Virat go with a five-bowler attack.

After the knock against Sri Lanka President’s XI last week, Rohit Sharma said he welcomed competition for places and avoided thinking too much about it. “It’s very simple; the fight for that spot will always be there whichever format you play, and it’s good for cricket and good for your team when you have that healthy competition. It makes everyone step up to the challenge all the time."

“For me, if the opportunity comes, I will try to make the most of it. I would rather not think too much about whether I will be playing or not, which number I will bat, things like that.”

“It doesn’t work for me, thinking too much about all those things. Whatever is in my control, I try and think about those things and it works for me. I try and always stick to my strengths, things that I have been doing over the years and that has helped me be wherever I am today,” he added.