The Australian tour will be Rohit's first big test as an opener in the longest format.
See Also: "Will be challenging for sure"; Rohit Sharma opines on playing day-night Test in Australia
Rohit dominated the red-ball cricket last year. Opening the batting for the first time in Tests, the Mumbaikar smashed 529 runs in four innings against South Africa.
Although Sharma proved his mettle as Test opener on home shores, his technique against the new ball was supposed to be tested in the tour of New Zealand, where he missed out on two games due to a calf injury earlier this year.
The Australian tour will be his first big test as an opener in the longest format.
“If Rohit Sharma is not a Test match opener, I’ve been watching a different game… If you go and ask fellow cricketers who your favourite players, a lot of them will say Rohit Sharma,” Hussain said in chat show on Sony Ten’s ‘Pit Stop’.
“Fellow cricketers watch Rohit Sharma and say this bloke seems to have so much time to bat.”
Nasser, who played 96 Tests for England, advised caution to Rohit at the start of the innings.
“Test match cricket at the top of the order is about having time, it’s about having a technique as well. You have to cover your off stump, like Virat did in England against Anderson, the way he left him outside after all his problems of the previous tour, that is a Test match cricketer.
“And that’s the only thing Rohit has to do when he goes away from home and when is moving around. He has to just spend half an hour and say to the bowler you can have this half hour I’m going to leave you, I’m going to take the slip cordon out of play.”
The cricketer-turned-commentator also added that the Indian team management will have to be spot-on with team selection in Australia.
Hussain recalled the 2018 Edgbaston Test where India had made the blunder by dropping their premier No. 3 Cheteshwar Pujara and went on to lose the match by 31 runs.
“I think India need to select well because they have so many great batsmen so it’s very easy that when Rohit doesn’t do anything for two games, Prithvi Shaw will get in, and when he doesn’t do well, someone else will get in…”
“Select, stick by them and give them a long run. They are very fine players and eventually if you don’t get runs in Australia then you’ve got a problem because like I say it is a good place to bat you will find out who your Test match players in Australia.”
India will also play a pink-ball Test on the tour, at the Adelaide Oval from December 11-15.
“Australia in general is a very good place to bat and the one game where it might do a little bit is the day-night Test. So if you get an opportunity of it moving around, you better make sure you use it.
“Probably since the Kolkata follow-on Test (at Eden Gardens in 2001) all these years ago, India-Australia has become an iconic series. Also because of IPL, and the sides knowing each other so well, and the clashes between them it’s become a real watchable series.
“Australia have gone on to No 1 in the Test rankings after the sandpaper gate scandal. I think it will be an incredibly watchable series,” Nasser said.
(With PTI inputs)