India captain Rohit Sharma’s is set to return as an opener in the third Test against Australia, which starts in Brisbane on December 14. Having missed the first Test in Perth due to the birth of his baby boy Ayaan, Rohit returned to the side in Adelaide, but not in his usual position as an opener but in the middle-order at No.6.
Instead, he kept faith in the successful pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, who ruled the roost en route to India’s 295-run victory in the first Test. The move in the second Test didn’t materialise as the trio of Rohit, Rahul and Jaiswal failed collectively. It was also the first time since 2018, Rohit batted at No.6.
With the series locked at 1-1 and the World Test Championship (WTC) final spot at stake, Rohit Sharma facing the new ball at the nets, indicates the right-hander will come back at the top along with Jaiswal.
Based on several media reports, out-of-form Rohit faced the new ball against the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj, clearly indicating that he going to come up the order. Notably, the Indian captain had not faced the Indian pacers with the new ball in the lead up to the day-night Test match in Adelaide.
In that case, Rahul will come down the order, potentially at no.5. With Rohit and Jaiswal to open, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli are slated to bat at no.3 and 4 slots. Rahul will come next, followed by Rishabh Pant and Nitish Kumar Reddy at at No.6 and 7 respectively.
Going by the statistics, Rohit hadn’t gone past 20 more than twice in his last 12 Test innings, with eight single-digit scores and just one half-century.
Why Rohit Sharma should return to the top?
According to legendary Sunil Gavaskar, India need Rohit back at the top as it would help him and the team score quick runs. “He should return to his regular spot. We should remember why Rahul had opened. He did that because Rohit Sharma was not available for the first Test,” Gavaskar said.
“Now I can understand why they kept him as an opener in the second Test, he had a 200-plus partnership with Jaiswal. But now that he couldn’t score in this Test, I feel Rahul should go back to No. 5 or No.6 and Rohit Sharma should open. If Rohit scores quickly in the beginning, then he can score a big century also later,” he added.
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