Former India cricketer wants Rohit Sharma to bat in the middle when he returns to the playing XI in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. India captain Rohit is not part of the team for the 1st Test in Perth, having stayed back in Mumbai for the birth of his second child. Rohit and his wife Ritika Sajdeh were blessed with a boy earlier this month, and the star batter is expected to join his teammates in Perth on Sunday. In Rohit’s absence at the top of the order, veteran batter KL Rahul has made a strong case for himself with an unbeaten 62 in the second innings in Perth.
He also looked strong during India’s horrow show with the bat in the first innings, scoring a composed 26 before being ruled out in controversial manner. Ganesh warned the Indian team management against re-shuffing Rahul’s batting order, who was promoted up the order to fill in for Rohit.
“Just have KL Rahul opening throughout the tour. For heavens sake don’t shuffle his spot again. He’s the best bet to handle the conditions with the new ball. Rohit can bat in the middle order,” Ganesh wrote in a post on X.
Ganesh suggested the management to try Rohit in the middle order for the remainder of the series, mainly because of Rahul’s ability to tackle the new ball.
“This opening partnership has to stay and Rohit will have to bat in the middle order. Hopefully, common sense prevails #AUSvIND #BorderGavaskarTrophy,” he wrote in another post.
This opening partnership has to stay and Rohit will have to bat in the middle order. Hopefully, common sense prevails #AUSvIND #BorderGavaskarTrophy https://t.co/aej6WARKXl
— Dodda Ganesh (@doddaganesha) November 23, 2024
As per reports, Rohit will join the team in Perth on Day 3 of the 1st Test. The report added that Rohit will be available for the two-day pink-ball tour game from November 30 in Canberra, ahead of the day-night Test in Adelaide.
Rohit’s recent numbers are underwhelming. Across five Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand, he scored 133 runs in 10 innings, averaging only 13.30, with a best score of 52. His scores in the home season were: 6, 5, 23, 8, 2, 52, 0, 8, 18, and 11.
(With ANI Inputs)
