Rohit Sharma didn't have a good time at no.6 for India.
Ravi Shastri, a former cricket player for India, has expressed his opinions about Rohit Sharma's batting position for the remaining games of the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia. Shastri also talked about what the seasoned captain should do to get back to his peak.
In the current series, Rohit's choice to bat lower in the order has not produced the outcomes the India captain may have hoped for.
Rohit was supposed to get back to the top of the order after missing the first Test to be with his family for the birth of his second kid. However, Rohit was moved to No. 6 after KL Rahul's outstanding 77 in India's triumph in Perth forced a rearrangement.
Rohit has scored 10, 3, and 6 in his last three innings, so this adjustment hasn't yet paid off. Rahul, meanwhile, has taken advantage of the chance and solidified his position at the top with an incredible 84 in the first innings of the third Test match at Brisbane.
“I would have asked him (Rohit) to open in the last Test match but then the way Rahul has batted, I mean he was a joy to watch and the way he's batting, I believe he struck a purple patch. It could be a position he might just want to keep and enhance the way he's playing because his technique was faultless.
The way he left the ball, the way he allowed the ball to come onto the bat, I mean some of his cover drives were as good as any played by anyone in world cricket at the moment. And so I think when there's that much confidence there, you know, let it be. I would like to see Rohit Sharma, his tactics change a bit because he can still be extremely dangerous at that number (six),” Ravi Shastri said on ICC Review.
Before the Border-Gavaskar series, Rohit had batted 25 times at No. 6, amassing 1037 runs at an impressive average of 54.57. However, his last appearance in this position was in 2018, after which he firmly established himself as a Test opener.
Shastri suggested that Rohit should bring his white-ball mindset to No. 6, urging him to adopt the aggressive approach that has defined his success in limited-overs cricket.
“I think he's got to be very clear in his mindset to go out there and take the attack to the opposition and not worry about anything else. The last thing you want is for him to be in two minds whether to defend or attack. In his case, it should be an attack. He picks up length quickly, he should take the opposition on at that number.
Because if he gets away in the first 10-15 minutes, in any way, he's not got past that 15-20 minutes, half an hour. So why don’t you play a natural game, go and take the attack to the opposition, and take it from there?” he added.
“Because I think that is his best way of not just coming back into form, winning a game for India as well. Because that number is a crucial number. The best No. 6s in the world are the guys who know how to have the ability to counter-attack. They read the situation well. Yes, if a lot of wickets have fallen, maybe for a little while, you might have to be circumspect, but the intent has to be far sooner than later.
Especially when you have that kind of ability and especially when you open the batting for India and you have all the shots for Australian conditions,” he added.
(ICC inputs)