India, Feb. 17 -- Between his debut in 2007 and January 2013, Rohit Sharma played 86 ODIs and scored 1978 runs at an average of 30.43. Ordinary numbers for a batter of his talent. And many fans would ask for his axing on a regular basis.

Then, MS Dhoni decided that having Rohit bat lower down the order (at No.6) was a waste. So just ahead of the 2013 Champions Trophy, the skipper asked the right-hander from Mumbai to start opening the innings.

"I believe the decision to open in ODIs changed my career and it was a decision taken by Dhoni. I became a better batsman after that," Rohit said in 2017.

"He (Dhoni) just came up to me and said "I want you to open the innings as I am confident that you will do well. Since you can play both the c...