Former India allrounder Sanjay Bangar believes the upcoming four-match Test series between India and Australia would be a huge one for captain Rohit Sharma. The former cricketer stated that the India skipper would be keen to perform well against the Aussies.
The much-anticipated series is scheduled to get underway on February 9 in Nagpur. India have won the previous three editions of the series and Rohit Sharma would be looking to extend India’s run as he looks to make a big mark in his first Test series against Australia as a captain.
Rohit Sharma has not really managed to play Tests regularly since being appointed as the captain. And the series against Australia could be one where he finally leave a mark as a Test captain. Since replacing Virat Kohli as the Test captain, Rohit Sharma has played only 2 Tests and missed 3 due to injury concerns.
Speaking ahead of the series, Bangar pointed out that the opener has already proved himself in some testing conditions and would now be keen to do well against the top-ranked Test side in the world.
“It’s a massive series for Rohit purely for the reason that whenever he was at his best, unfortunately, injuries made him sit out a lot of Test matches from 2015 to 2018. In 2018, when he was batting really well, he had to miss a Test match because he wanted to come back home to be with his family for personal reasons,” Sanjay Bangar told Star Sports.
“He has already conquered in his own mind the challenge of batting in English conditions in Test match cricket as an opener. Against England in India, we saw what a terrific series he had at home. So he obviously would keep this at the top of his to-do mark to do really well as a captain against the Australian team,” he added.
Sanjay Bangar’s advice for Rohit Sharma:
Sanjay Bangar also had some words of advice for the India batting superstar. The former India batting coach has suggested Rohit Sharma to remain cautious against the new ball before capitalising on his spin-playing ability. Bangar also backed Rohit to do well with the bat if he manages to see off the new ball.
“Get through the new ball because Rohit Sharma has fabulous ability against the turning ball. If you look at his skills, he can go down the wicket, he can sweep the ball really well. Both these skills are going to be required, especially against (Nathan) Lyon,” Bangar added.
“He has those skillsets, if he can see through the new ball with the same kind of discipline that he showed against the English bowlers in swinging conditions, I am pretty sure he will be able to set up a great foundation for the team,” he added.