Rohit Sharma wants to hold on to his Test spot

Rohit is yet to cement his Test spot

Indian batsman Rohit Sharma is well aware that his Test spot hangs in the balance as he gears to tour a country where he hasn’t had a great time over the years. Speaking to bcci.tv ahead of the 3-match Test series in Sri Lanka, the star batsman revealed that a spot in the Test line-up is very special to him.

"It is very priceless," Rohit told the site. "It is very close to me. I don't want to let go of it so easily. It's not just me. Any cricketer you ask nobody wants to lose that spot. You know how hard you had to work for that spot. For me it was never easy. Let's make it very clear. I had to wait for five-six years before making my debut. I was scoring pretty heavily in Ranji Trophy. Because we had such a strong middle order at that time, it wasn't easy. We knew we had to wait.”

"Now, you know, I stand in a position where it's in a very tricky position. I definitely want to do well every Test match I play. But knowing how Test matches are played these days, it's not easy. In fact it was never easy. Test cricket. It is a challenge, and I love challenges," he further told the site.

The last time he toured the island nation to play a bilateral series, his returns were very poor as he scored just 13 runs in 5 innings. That pushed Suresh Raina ahead of him in the pecking order for a spot in the Indian Test middle order. 

But he came closer to making his debut much before that in 2010 when he was all set to play at Nagpur against South Africa. But unfortunately, he got injured at the last minute during the warm-ups. 

"Honestly, during that period when I didn't play any Test cricket it was quite frustrating," Rohit revealed to the site. "Knowing that I was going to make Test debut in 2010, and I got injured, and had to wait three years for it. It's not easy. To work hard for that Test cap… I was quite happy with whatever I was doing. I was working hard, I was happy, I was still playing ODIs, but Test cricket is something I wanted to play. Certain things are not in your hands. You can't do much about it. I had to only wait. But it was worth waiting for those four years. It was good to get a century on your debut, but after my debut it has not been such a great time. I am still working hard, I am still learning, and it was a good experience to play Test cricket outside India."

He has also set himself a goal to help India reach the number 1 ranking in Tests as he wasn’t the part of the team that achieved the feat in 2010.  "I wasn't a part of the Test team when we became No. 1. So that's a goal, to be part of the Test team where we become no. 1 in Test rankings. That's my aim, to bring India back to No. 1. I know it's not going to be easy, but we have the squad, we have got the guys to do it so I don't see any reason why we can't do it," he was quoted as saying by the site. 

He also understands that there is going to be a lot of competition for the spots as the new Test captain Virat Kohli has stated his preference to play with 5 bowlers in Asia. “When it comes to competition, it is always good to be in that zone. You always want to be competing for whatever you do. Just not for the spot, but even when you cement your place, you want to keep competing against the best in the world. I don't take it as pressure. I always enjoy competition, I have always loved it. At the end of the day what you do on the field is what matters. When you get an opportunity you have to make the most of it. You are the person in charge, you are the person responsible for what you make of it. It is in your hand what you do. You have all the opportunity. You just have to grab it. How you do it is up to you,” he said.