Rohit Sharma should open in the India vs Australia 3rd Test. This seems to be the answer of many experts when asked about how the Indian captain should turn things around amid his bad patch of form. This also happens to be the opinion of Team India‘s former head coach, Ravi Shastri. He feels opening is Rohit’s best position, and he needs to return to the spot to change things up.
Opening spot, best place for Rohit Sharma
Rohit has opened the batting since 2019, and it was the position that he made his own following his return to the Indian Test team. Since helming the opener’s role, no Indian batter has scored more runs than him. But Rohit’s record at number six is exceptional, and he would have ideally succeeded in Adelaide as well if not for his poor form.
“That’s where (opening) he’s been at his best over the last eight or nine years. It’s not that he’s going to set the world on fire—he could—but that’s the place that’s best for him… If he has to do damage, if he has to throw the first punch, that’s the best place from where he can do it,” Shastri told the Age.
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Shastri backtracks
But this seems to be the opposite of what the former all-rounder had said before the Adelaide Test. Shastri had said that KL Rahul should be the opener after he scored 103 runs in the opening Test and was one of the reasons why Team India took a 1-0 lead. But, it seems one failure of Rohit has forced Shastri to change his whole thinking process, and now he wants the Indian captain up top and Rahul, who’s done the most difficult confidence, to move down the order.
Rohit Sharma Test record at different batting positions
| Position | Span | Innings | Runs | Average | 100s | 50s | High Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2021-24 | 29 | 1226 | 43.78 | 3 | 5 | 161 |
| 2nd | 2019-24 | 35 | 1459 | 44.21 | 6 | 3 | 212 |
| 3rd | 2015 | 5 | 107 | 21.40 | 0 | 1 | 53 |
| 4th | 2015 | 1 | 4 | 4.00 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 5th | 2013-18 | 16 | 437 | 29.13 | 0 | 3 | 79 |
| 6th | 2013-18 | 25 | 1037 | 54.57 | 3 | 6 | 177 |
