Rohit Sharma or Manoj Tiwary is Dhoni’s dilemma; Gambhir says team management has faith in Rohit

Even though the likes of Virender Sehwag and MS Dhoni used the long handle at the Premadasa Stadium on Friday, on the eve of India's third ODI against Sri Lanka, the focus was on two youngsters for contrasting reasons, says a report in Hindustan Times, adding that while Rohit Sharma was working hard to rediscover his run-scoring ability, Manoj Tiwary — the man who has spent 13 ODIs in a row on the bench since scoring a century against West Indies last December — applied himself, hoping he would play on Saturday.

“With the hosts levelling the series with a nine-wicket win at Hambantota on Tuesday, calls for Rohit — whose mediocre run in 2012 continued with five runs in the first two games — to be replaced by Tiwary have got louder. It remains to be seen if the team management decides to let the Bengal batsman have a go. No doubt Tiwary is frustrated, having to warm the bench for eight months. And with Rohit failing to translate his immense talent into runs of late calls for Tiwary to be given at least one opportunity, after being ignored in the tri-series in Australia and the Asia Cup,” adds the report.

Meanwhile other media reports also add that MS Dhoni, the India captain, faces a selection dilemma ahead of the third one-day international against Sri Lanka at the Premadasa ground in Colombo today. “With scores of one and 0 in the first two games of the five-match series, Rohit Sharma may make way for Manoj Tiwary in the middle order. India won the first match convincingly with more than 300 runs on the board but collapsed in a nine-wicket loss in contrasting style in the second on Tuesday. The misfiring Rohit has been struggling for form and was out in both games trying to play away from the bat. Tiwary, on the other hand, has been waiting in the wings for 14 matches after scoring his maiden ODI century,” say the reports.

Meanwhile when asked about the regular failure of batsman like Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir said that there is no doubt that the team management had great confidence in Rohit's ability. "We are also looking at the players who will be part of the team in the World T20 to be held here. Changing and chopping often is not the solution. Talented players need to be given a long rope and that is the team management's policy," Gambhir said.

However, despite a nine-wicket loss in second ODI, Gautam feels Team India's batting collapse in the second match against Sri Lanka at Hambantota was a wake-up call at the start of a long, busy season, says a report in The Times Of India.

"In the first match we scored well over 300 runs, but were brought down to earth in the next game," he said. We started the series with a bang after a rest of almost two months following the IPL, which was a good sign that the team was not rusty. But the batting collapse in the second game will ensure that we will not be complacent and be alert to the requirements of international pressure."