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Rohit has not batted in the middle order since Australia tour in 2018-19 when he scored 106 in 2 matches.
Should Rohit Sharma return to middle order in Adelaide Test
Rohit Sharma’s late arrival in Australia has led to a batting conundrum ahead of the pink-ball Test in Adelaide, starting Friday. The Indian captain skipped the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener in Perth while KL Rahul returned to the opening spot and paired with Yashasvi Jaiswal. The duo scripted history with a 201-run stand in the second innings, which now stands as the highest opening partnership for India in Australia.
As the team gears up for the next match in Adelaide, Rohit did not alter the opening combination in the practice game against Australia’s PMXI in Canberra. Instead, he walked out at No. 6 but could not contribute much. On the other hand, the undisturbed pair of Jaiswal and Rahul added 75 runs to the first wicket in the opening tie.
Rohit has not batted in the middle order since 2018, but former selector Devang Gandhi believes that the Indian captain should not change the opening pair of Jaiswal and Rahul and should continue batting at No. 6.
“In fact, I feel Rohit should come in at No. 6, because Rishabh Pant, too, has shaped up very well at 5…The left-right combo, too, can be maintained that way,” Gandhi told the Times of India.
“It becomes difficult if a middle-order batter tries to become an opener in the latter stages of his career. But it will not be difficult for an opener to go in the middle order, especially for Rohit, who started as a No. 6 batter for India.”
It was the 2018/19 tour of Australia when Rohit batted at No. 6 and scored 37, 1, 63* and 5 in the two matches in Melbourne and Adelaide. He comes to Australia in 2024 after enduring a forgettable New Zealand series, which India lost 3-0. He scored just 91 runs in three innings, including a duck, in Pune. In fact, he also struggled in the previous assignment against Bangladesh, where he scored just 85 runs in four innings.
