The no.1-ranked Test team India is struggling to find out proper opening partners. According to some media reports, the limited-overs opener Rohit Sharma can open for India during the upcoming home Test series against South Africa.
India’s present Test opening batting scenario is not so good. Due to the doping violation, the BCCI has suspended the young opener Prithvi Shaw till 15th November 2019. Mayank Agarwal is a newcomer and needs time to settle the opening spot. Senior batsmen like Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay are currently not considered for the Test cricket.
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Moreover, KL Rahul has hugely disappointed in recent time. Despite getting some good opportunities, Rahul has failed to utilise those. For around one year, Rahul hasn’t registered any Test 50+ score as his last one was during The Oval Test in September 2018 when he scored the fighting 149 runs in the fourth innings.
Since The Oval Test, Rahul has batted in 12 Test innings and scored 195 runs with an average of only 17.72. His Test spot is surely under question, especially after another flop shows in the recently concluded Caribbean tour. In the first Test of that tour, Rahul got good starts but failed to convert those into the big scores as he scored 44 and 38 runs. Later, the right-handed batsman scored 13 and 6 runs during the second and final Test of this series.
Due to this reason, the selectors are now thinking about Rohit Sharma as the new Test opener. MSK Prasad, the chief selector, has recently also claimed that the selectors will discuss this. The Indian national cricket team is now preparing for the forthcoming home series against South Africa. After the three-match T20I series, India-South Africa will be busy in the three-match Test series in October 2019.
Rohit Sharma hasn’t opened in Test cricket yet
Despite starting his Test career with two centuries in the first two innings, Rohit Sharma has failed to consistently shine in Test cricket. He has scored 1,585 runs in 47 Test innings (average 39.62), which is not poor, especially when he mostly batted as a middle-order batsman. But, he hasn’t maintained the consistency and his performances against the top-ranked teams are weaker. However, he hasn’t played as an opening batsman in Test cricket yet.
The Test performances of Rohit Sharma in every batting position
| Batting Position | Innings | Runs scored | Highest Score | Average | 100s/50s |
| 3rd | 5 | 107 | 53 | 21.40 | 0/1 |
| 4th | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4.00 | 0/0 |
| 5th | 16 | 437 | 79 | 29.13 | 0/3 |
| 6th | 25 | 1,037 | 177 | 54.57 | 3/6 |
Meanwhile, the no.2-ranked ODI batsman Rohit Sharma has become a very consistent performer in limited-overs cricket since he took the responsibility of opening batting. The ODI and T20I vice-captain is currently one of the top in-form openers in limited-overs cricket.
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So, the selectors are now thinking to consider Rohit Sharma as an opener for the upcoming home Test series against South Africa.