India enjoyed a great opening week in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 with a 295-run victory at the Optus Stadium in Perth. But with the return of their regular captain, Rohit Sharma, they worry ahead of the second day-night fixture at the Adelaide Oval about the batter’s batting position in the line-up. He missed the first game due to paternity leave for the birth of his child.
Rohit Sharma didn’t travel with the side in Perth before joining them later. The opening duo of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal have done a tremendous job with the 201-run opening stand in the second innings, which now has raised a question of whether the management should look to break the successful combo.
Shubman Gill, who has been batting at the number three position, wasn’t available either for the last game due to the finger injury, which he picked during the match stimulation at the WACA. He has now recovered and is expected to make a comeback in the side.
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All of these first couple of questions were answered during the two-day warm-up game against the Pink ball for the Indian side against the Prime Minister’s XI at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. Both Rahul and Jaiswal walked into the middle for the opening stand to chase down the score of 241 in 46 overs.
Devang Gandhi urges Rohit Sharma not to make unnecessary changes for Adelaide Test
The left-handed batter drilled 45 runs in 59 deliveries before getting dismissed while displaying the aggressive version of his batting to end the 75-run stand for the very first wicket. KL Rahul also retired out for 27 in 44 deliveries. Gill walked at number three and didn’t look to be out of the side as he celebrated a half-century.
Rohit Sharma pushed him at number four and struggled badly under the floodlights. He looked a bit cautious outside off, a feature that helped him to get back in the longest format. The Nagpur-born displayed incredible patience and resilience during their tour to England in 2021.
However, the veteran’s 11-ball stay ended with the delivery at the corridor of uncertainty. Rohit Sharma left the first ball from Charlie Anderson but went chasing after the next one and ended up fishing outside off to nick into the hands of the first slip fielder. It might be hard to judge the form of the batter.
The Mumbai batter struggled for his 91 runs in six innings at an average of around 15 with just one half-century on his name. The Indian captain has taken the middle order responsibility, not a many time. He hasn’t batted outside the top six since 2018. But, the former national selector, Devang Gandhi, has requested Rohit Sharma to stick to the role and avoid any chopping and changing.
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“I feel Rohit Sharma should come in at No. Six, because Rishabh Pant, too, has shaped up very well at 5. The left-right combo, too, can be maintained that way. It becomes difficult if a middle-order batter tries to become an opener in the latter stages of his career. But it will not be difficult for an opener to go in the middle-order, especially for Rohit, who started as a No. 6 batter for India.” Gandhi interacted with the Times of India.
When Rohit Sharna batted at the number six position during the 2018/19 BGT tour of Australia, he managed 37, one, unbeaten 63 runs and five in the two fixtures in Melbourne and Adelaide.