After missing the first match against Australia in Perth due to the birth of his second, India skipper Rohit Sharma returned for the second Test in Adelaide. However, Rohit failed to perform with the bat, managing the scores of 3 and 6 as India suffered a humiliating 10-wicket loss against Australia in the pink-ball Test.
During the pink-ball Test, Indian skipper dropped down to the number six spot after Rahul excelled at the top in the series opener in his absence, saying that he didn’t wish to tinker with a combination of KL and Yashasvi Jaiswal that brought the team success in the series opener which the visitors won by 295-run win at Perth.
However, Rohit’s failure his Adelaide Test, former players Ravi Shastri and Suni Gavaskar want India skipper to return to the opening spot so that he can be his aggressive and expressive self.
“That’s the reason I want him at the top. That’s where he can be aggressive and expressive. Just thought he was a little too subdued, just seeing his body language,” Shastri told ‘Star Sports’.
“The fact that he didn’t make runs, I don’t think there was enough on the field there. I just wanted to see him more involved, and a little more animated,” the former India coach added.
Earlier, the 37-year-old had admitted that it was not an easy decision for him to drop down the batting order.
“Personally, it was not easy. But for the team, yes, it made a lot of sense,” Rohit, who batted in the middle order for the first time since 2018, had said.
Meanwhile, KL Rahul, who had looked solid with scores of 26 and 77 in the first Test, failed to replicate his form in the second match. As a result, former India captain Gavaskar wants Rohit to play as an opener.
“He should return to his regular spot. We should remember why Rahul had opened. He did that because Rohit Sharma was not available for the first Test,” Gavaskar said on ‘Sports Tak’.
“I can understand why they kept him as an opener in the second Test, he had a 200-plus partnership with Jaiswal. But now that he couldn’t score this Test, I feel Rahul should go back to No. 5 or No.6 and Rohit Sharma should open. If Rohit scores quickly in the beginning, then he can score a big century also later,” he added.
