India batting coach Vikram Rathour has backed Rohit Sharma, who is all set to open the innings for India in the first Test against South Africa. While interacting with media ahead of the 2nd T20I, Rathour said that everyone in team management feels Rohit is too good a player to not playing Tests and added that Rohit will have to get his gameplan right to be successful in Tests.
“I think he is too good a player to not be playing in any team. Everybody in the side echoes this opinion. He is a wonderful opening batsman in the limited-overs format, so there is no reason why he cannot be successful in Test matches. If he gets his gameplan right, he can be a great asset to the team,” Vikram Rathour said.
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The voices to promote Rohit as an opener in Tests were raised after he wasn’t included in the playing XI during the series against West Indies. With KL Rahul not being able to convert his starts into big scores, the selectors decided to drop the right-handed batsman.
They have called up Shubman Gill in the Test squad but for now, it is confirmed that Rohit will get the nod and will open in the Test format for the first time in his career.
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He is expected to be given all three Test matches to prove himself. If he does well, Rohit will fix his spot as Test opener as well but in the other case, Gill might walk into playing XI for the Bangladesh Tests.
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Rohit, who wasn’t a regular in playing XI in white-ball cricket until 2013, saw his career graph go up when he was promoted as an opener by MS Dhoni. There has been no looking back since then for him and presently, he is the vice-captain of India in ODIs and T20Is.
The South Africa Test series will also be a big challenge for Mayank Agarwal, who did well in the West Indes Test series. The likes of Gill, Abhimanu Easwaran and Priyank Panchal are knocking the doors of the Indian team and selectors have enough openers to choose from in case the regulars fail to capitalise the opportunities.
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The three-Test matches between India and South Africa will be played in Vizag, Pune and Ranchi from October 2, 10 and 19, respectively. Prior to the Tests, both the teams will play two remaining T20Is on September 18 and 22. The first T20I of the series in Dharamsala was a washed-out affair.