Former India National Cricket Team opening batsman Aakash Chopra has opined that the India skipper Rohit Sharma should continue to bat in the middle-order in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
While mentioning that the suggestions have come from Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri to move Rohit Sharma back to the top order, Aakash Chopra acknowledged that it could happen as well.
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Rohit Sharma batted at No.6 in Adelaide Test
India captain Rohit missed the Test series opener against Australia in Perth. He stayed with his wife after the birth of their second child and the team management decided to pair KL Rahul with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
The move didn’t work for India initially, as in the first innings, they were unable to get off to a great start despite KL Rahul looking settled in the middle.
However, things looked completely different in the second innings as Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul built a historic partnership of 201 runs in 383 balls. Jaiswal hit a sensational century while Rahul slammed a terrific fifty.
After this new opening pair’s good performance, Rohit Sharma decided to relinquish his opening spot and handed it to KL Rahul while shifting to the No.6 position in the batting order.
Rohit Sharma looked miserable while batting in the middle-order in the pink-ball Test in Adelaide and registered scores of 3 and 6 across two innings. Also, Jaiswal and Rahul failed to replicate their Perth Test heroics.
He has been your most successful opener since he started opening – Aakash Chopra
In a video shared on his official YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra spoke about the batting order of the Indian team for the Brisbane Test match.
He said that Rohit, being the captain, has the decision in his hands, and he can switch back to the opening, particularly because of his great record in Tests as an opener. Aakash Chopra stated:
“The question is – where will Rohit Sharma bat? I was listening to Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri. They said he should open as the experiment (KL Rahul opening) was just for one match, and since it worked in one match, you followed it in the second match, but now that experiment is over. It’s possible. He is the captain. He has been your most successful opener since he started opening.”
If he was going to play as an opener only, he could have done that in the pink-ball Test – Aakash Chopra
The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Rohit Sharma could have opened in the Adelaide Test as well, and changing the batting order after every game isn’t the wise thing to do. He said:
“However, if he was going to play as an opener only, he could have done that in the pink-ball Test too. There is no hard and fast rule that you should do things according to what happened in the last match because if you do that, changes will start happening after every match – you do the same thing if it worked in one match, and then reverse it in the third match if it didn’t work in the second. It cannot happen like that.”
Aakash Chopra further said that Rohit should bat at No.5 or No.6 in the rest of the series against the Pat Cummins-led side. He stated:
“I feel he should remain where he is. He should bat in the middle order. He and Rishabh Pant can decide No. 5 or No. 6 between them based on the situation. I am not seeing him playing as an opener, to be very honest.”