Making a comeback for the day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval starting Friday, Rohit Sharma put to rest the biggest query pertaining to the visiting side’s playing combination, especially the opener’s slot.
The India captain confirmed that the team will stick to its opening combination of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal while he will slot in the middle order.
Speaking to the reporters on the eve of the Pink ball Test, Rohit confirmed saying, “KL will open (in Adelaide). The way he batted and his partnership with Jaiswal was instrumental in that first test win. And I felt that there’s no need to change that now. Maybe in the future things will be different, I don’t know. So based on what has happened and what KL has shown outside of India, he probably deserves that place at this point”
While Rohit – India’s regular opener in the format – admitted the call wasn’t an easy one to make as a batter, he added that it was in the best interest of the team.
“The way he has batted outside India, he deserves it. I will bat somewhere in the middle. It was a fairly simple decision. Personally, it wasn’t easy but for the team, it was an easy decision to make,” he said.
In the skipper’s absence in Perth, Rahul emerged as one of the key contributors with the bat, piling a crucial 77 runs off 176 deliveries in the second innings to help India stretch a first innings lead.
“I was at home with my newborn in my arms, and I was watching how KL batted. It was brilliant to watch. I felt that there’s no need to change that now. Maybe in the future, things will be different. I don’t know. Based on what has happened and what KL Rahul has shown outside of India, he probably deserves that place at this point in time. It is something that has brought us success in the first Test,” he said.
The 37-year-old commended the partnership between Rahul and Jaiswal, who was the highest scorer for India in his first Test Down Under.
“You have that one big partnership with Jaiswal on the other side, and you know, it probably won us the Test match. When you come here, in a place like Perth, and you get 500 runs or so, it’s such a massive tick in the box,” Rohit added.
Another notable call from the visitors in the first Test saw Washington Sundar start ahead of veteran spin all-rounders, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Explaining the decision to bench the duo, Rohit added that the two will be key to India’s plans moving forward in the five-Test series.
“I wasn’t there personally to break the news to Ashwin and Jadeja that they won’t be playing at Perth. The management went with the best team they thought that suited that pitch. These two will play a role in the rest of the series. They have been massive to India’s record in the past. We shall look at the pitches and decide,” Rohit said.
The skipper also lauded Washington Sundar, adding that the 25-year-old’s presence in the squad added to the team’s morale.
“Washington came to Australia on the last tour, got crucial runs and took wickets. Unfortunately, he got injured. He is a solid all-rounder. The team gets confident with players like him. I just hope he stays injury free. I only see his graph going up from here,” Rohit said.
Rohit also spoke highly about the young batters in his side, including Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant, who have been able to find success overseas very early in their careers.
“The youngsters nowadays are fearless. They don’t carry any baggage. Jaiswal, Gill, Pant – these are the cricketers of a different generation. When we had come to Australia for the first time, the only thing in our minds used to be how to score runs. We would put extra pressure on ourselves. But every generation is different. Today’s players are bold and fearless, and perhaps this is working in their favour,” he said.
“Whenever I talk to them, they have only one thing in their mind: how to win the match. They don’t think of how I would score a hundred or a double-hundred. When you start thinking like that, the individual performances take care of themselves. Because if you have to win, you will have to perform – and that happens automatically. If your primary focus is how to win matches, series, tournaments, then the big runs these guys make that is secondary.
“If they are not able to contribute with the bat, they wonder what they can do in fielding, or bowling. So the guys these days think like this, which is a very, very good thing. I don’t know if someone talks to them about it, or tells them. But this is their natural mindset when they come for a tour – their mindset is how to win the match,” the India skipper said before signing off.