India cricket team skipper Rohit Sharma’s form in the longest format of the game is a cause for concern for India. But what is more worrying the failed experiment of allowing the Hitman to bat in the middle-order. After six long years, Sharma returned to batting at number 6 in IND vs AUS 2nd Test, only to witness two back-to-back failures in the game. With India’s chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) final hanging by a thread, there’s no more time for experimentation when it comes to the batting order in the Brisbane Test.
Rohit Sharma should open for India in IND vs AUS 3rd Test, period!
India decided to stick with the opening combination of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal for the Adelaide Test following the success of the duo at the top in IND vs AUS 1st Test. Rohit Sharma, who made his return to the playing XI after missing the 1st Test, was placed in the middle-order. Both these decisions failed to reap rewards as Australia managed to reverse the pressure on India in the Pink Ball Test.
Rohit Sharma, who last played in the middle-order in 2018, struggled to get going and managed to register scores of just 3 & 6 in two innings. To make matters worse, he failed when India needed him to deliver the most – a top-order collapse which needed the middle-order to step up and deliver. Instead, an inexperienced Nitish Reddy stepped up to the occasion and delivered with the bat.
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While Rohit Sharma’s form has been worrying in the second half of 2024, the Brisbane Test is a do-or-die match for India in terms of keeping their WTC final hopes alive. And hence, there is no room for experimentation with the batting order. The time has come for Rohit Sharma to not only return to his role as opener, but also pull up his socks and start scoring with the bat. This would mean KL Rahul will move back to the middle-order but that’s okay, given that the Karnataka batter has the experience of playing at different positions in the batting order, something that he is comfortable doing more than the Hitman.
After beating Australia by 295 runs in IND vs CAUS 1st Test, India lost the Pink Ball Test in Adelaide by 10 wickets. The loss has put their chances of making it to their third consecutive WTC final in jeopardy. IND vs AUS 3rd Test, which begins from December 14, is a must-win encounter for both India and Rohit Sharma – more so for the latter as captain and batter.
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