Rohit Sharma’s decision to bat in the middle order in the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests, has failed to yield the desired results for the Indian team in the Border-Gavaskar series so far.
However, if the training sessions in the lead up to the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, are an indication, it seems that the Indian team is unlikely to tinker with the pairing of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the order, which means Rohit will continue at the No.6 spot despite scoring 10, three and six in his last three innings.
Rahul, on the other hand, has capitalised on the opportunity, cementing his position at the top with a stellar 84 in the first innings at Brisbane in the third Test.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who had earlier suggested Rohit to return as opener ahead of the Brisbane Test, has now backed Rahul to retain the role as opener but advocated a change in approach for Rohit to make an impact while batting lower down the order.
Shastri suggested that Rohit should channel his white-ball mindset while batting at No.6, encouraging him to embrace 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 him to be in two minds whether to defend or attack. In his case, it should be attack,” Shastri said.
“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?
“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,” the former India all-rounder suggested.
Rohit is no stranger to batting at No.6 in Test cricket. In fact, he made his Test debut in 2013 in this position, marking the occasion with a century. Before the Border-Gavaskar series, Rohit had batted 25 times at No.6, amassing 1037 runs at an impressive average of 54.57.
However, the last time he played in that role was back in 2018, after which he firmly established himself as a Test opener.