Many former legends of Indian cricket want Rohit Sharma to open the innings against Australia in the third Test match in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) starting from Saturday, but the Indian captain may continue to bat at the sixth position in this match like Adelaide. Keep.
Rohit did not play in the initial Test due to the birth of his second child. In his absence, Lokesh Rahul batted brilliantly while opening the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal. The Indian captain had scored three and six while batting in the middle order in the pink ball Test in Adelaide.
If one looks at Rohit’s statistics in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) countries, his batting average in 46 innings is less than 30, whereas as an opener, he averages 37.8 with one century in 20 innings. Is. He performed brilliantly while opening the innings in England in 2021. During this period he scored a century at The Oval.
When ‘PTI’ talked to a ‘level three’ coach of BCCI on this matter, he cited technical flaws in Rohit’s batting and said that it would not be that good for him to open the innings. This coach, who has worked on Rohit’s technique at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), said, “Rohit Sharma has used very limited footwork throughout his career. Even when he was at his peak, he didn’t use much footwork. After turning 37, his ‘reflexes (body’s reaction to the ball) have slowed down and he is taking more time to judge the length of the ball.’
He said, “Rohit will have no problem in scoring fast runs in the IPL because here he will have to face some domestic bowlers with 130 km per hour speed.” He said, “If you look at the way he gets out, He is not taking his front leg out much. If you move your feet out more, you can reduce the impact of the ball’s swing.
This coach, who himself was an opening batsman, said, “When your reflexes are weak, you do not use your steps much. If he opens the innings at Gabba, he will have trouble adjusting to the swing of the red Kookaburra ball. If he comes at number six, there is a high possibility that he will face the old ball. Even if a new ball was taken after 80 overs of play, by then the Australian bowlers would have been completely exhausted.
Former national selector Devang Gandhi also has similar views. He said, “If we compare the stance of Rohit and Virat Kohli, the Indian captain bats with a slightly ‘open stance’. In such a situation, the front leg cannot be taken forward much. Virat is successful in taking his steps far ahead.
He said, “The team management’s decision to make Rohit bat at number six was right.” Former India coach Ravi Shastri and great opener Sunil Gavaskar, however, believe that Rohit should open the innings. Shastri said that he did not look comfortable at all in the middle order. “I want him at the top,” he told Star Sports. He can bat aggressively at this position. Seeing his expressions in the middle order, it seemed that he was a little too tied up.
Gavaskar said, “He should return to his place.” We should remember why Rahul opened the innings. He played this role in Rohit’s absence.