Veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara believes India skipper Rohit Sharma should continue to bat in the middle order in the remaining Test matches of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
While it might be a temporary measure, Rohit moved down to No. 6 for the second Test in Adelaide to retain the successful opening partnership of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal. However, the decision backfired as he managed to score only runs across two innings.
Speaking ahead of the third Test in Brisbane, Pujara suggested that Rohit should sacrifice his position thinking about the future of Indian cricket.
Rohit was trapped LBW by Scott Boland in the first innings of the pink-ball Test, while he received an absolute jaffa from Pat Cummins in the second dig to lose his off pole.
Pujara asked the Indian captain to work on his technique and argued that a bigger front-foot stride might help him in Australia.
"He has not scored a lot of runs against New Zealand and he did not start well in Australia, so there is a bit of pressure on him to perform. But someone like him who knows his game will just have to be more positive, and work a bit more on his footwork. If he has a slightly bigger stride, it will help him," Pujara said while speaking on ESPNcricinfo.
"The stump line has been troubling him a lot. He has been getting out bowled and LBW, which is a bit of concern for him. That's the line he will have to work on in the nets, because in the balls outside off stump, he is looking more comfortable. I think he should continue to bat at No.6. We are looking at India's future, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal. They batted really well in the 1st Test match, Shubman also is likely to bat at No.3. We should think about the long term and that's why I think that Rohit should continue to bat at No.6," he added.
Rohit missed the first Test in Perth due to paternity leave. In his absence, Rahul opened the innings along with Jaiswal and the pair stitched a double-century stand in the second innings to set up India’s 295-run victory, making a strong case to retain their partnership.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy currently stands level at 1-1, with the third Test scheduled to be held at the Gabba from December 14.
