It will be close to 11 months since Rohit Sharma last featured in an ODI at home. An injury sustained during the final game of the five-match ODI series against New Zealand at Vizag ruled him out for the rest of the season before he resumed batting in the IPL and eventually joined the Indian team for the Champions Trophy. Rested for the ODI series against the West Indies, Rohit struck two back-to-back hundreds against Sri Lanka, an opposition he has tormented often. The ‘Hitman’ will look to carry the momentum as India take on Australia in the five-match ODI series that starts in Chennai. Despite playing his first ODI at home this year, the Mumbai batsman will relish the challenge as five of his 13 centuries have come against the Aussies. The last time he played against Australia at home, Rohit plundered a double century. With Shikhar Dhawan, his attacking opening partner unavailable for the first three ODIs, a lot will depend on the Indian vice-captain. “We have great bench strength. Of course, the presence of Shikhar will be missed,” he said. “The kind of form he was in of late, the achievements we have had in the last few series, he has had a big role to play. Right from Champions Trophy till the last tour in Sri Lanka, he has had impactful performances for the team,” said Rohit on Friday. The home team will not hit the panic mode as a strong bench strength is what defines this team. Both Ajinkya Rahane and KL Rahul have scored centuries opening the innings for India. While the team management decided to slot KL Rahul at No.4 in the last series against Sri Lanka, Ajinkya was named Player of the Series against the West Indies. “We have got a few guys who can replace him (Dhawan). Ajinkya (Rahane) is one of them. He had a great series in the West Indies, where he was the Man of the Series. There are guys who can come and take the position anytime. That’s why we have the (rotation) policy going on.” It was the same opening spot that transformed Rohit’s ODI career when under MS Dhoni’s leadership the switch from middle-order to top was made. The senior batsman said that flexibility and adaptability are this team’s driving point. “When you have this kind of versatility in your team, it gives captain and coach a little bit of relief that these guys can take up any position they are offered. You will have to play according to the team dynamics. That’s how I became an opener – because the team wanted me to open at that point. I’m sure no batsman will come into the fray thinking he is a specialist opening batsman and needs to open the innings. We are all here thinking ‘wherever the team wants us to play we should do the job’.” He added that the goal will be clear irrespective of his batting partner. “When we get out in the middle, there is no confusion. There is only one thought – how to get our team off to a good start. Whoever gets the opportunity to bat with me will think the same way. It’s all about complementing each other. That’s very crucial going forward and that’s what has got us a lot of success to our team. Things will not change so much, but we will be playing at different conditions all the time so we will have to assess the wicket and see what a good score is. The two guys in the middle are the boss. They have all the time and the right to make the decisions and the team is there to back them all the time.”