Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Rohit Sharma back in middle order batter avatar

The candour which captain Rohit Sharma brings to the Indian cricket team’s media conferences can be refreshing. After much ado over his batting position in the pink-ball Test starting in Adelaide on Friday, Rohit casually clarified that it would be K.L. Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top while he would bat ‘’somewhere in the middle’’.

This makes cricketing sense, as the makeshift opening pair of Rahul-Jaiswal clearly batted Australia out of the first Test with that epic 201-run partnership but then, batter captains are often loathe to sacrifice their positions. Rahul, who hardly put a foot wrong in either innings in Perth (falling to a controversial referral in the first), showed all the wherewithal to thrive as an opener on the tracks there, making it easier for Rohit to take the call to demote himself after a run of 37 Tests.

It was at the insistence of Ravi Shastri, the then head coach, that the ‘Hitman’ had agreed to open in Tests in a home series against South Africa in 2019, a move which helped him reinvent himself as a Test cricketer. He had already become a white-ball giant by then, and boasted a decent run in the longer format at either number five or six, accumulating 1.585 runs from 27 Tests at an average of 39.52. 

However, Rohit the Test opener amassed 2,685 runs in 37 matches with an average of 44.01 in last five years including nine of his 12 centuries. The adaptability he showed in the new role, after taking fresh guard at 32, is really praiseworthy, but then it could be a good move on part of the 37-year-old captain, not in the best of form in recent times, to help shore up the middle order again.

The media would see this as a sacrifice but for Rohit, it’s a decision keeping the team’s interests in mind. ‘’I was at home with my newborn in my arms and I was watching how K.L. batted. It was brilliant to watch. I felt that there’s no need to change that now. Maybe in the future, things will be different. I don't know,’’ the captain said.

A winning dressing room, meanwhile, is expected to make life a lot easier for the captain when he steps out in the middle after a forgettable three-Test series against New Zealand at home. He did not get much crease time in the warm-up game against the Australian PM’s XI either, and had no qualms about admitting that his batters will have to adapt to the pink ball quickly in the upcoming contest.

‘’It is just about getting used to the pace of the ball. We are so used to playing with the red ball. The pink ball certainly does more than the red ball but at the same time, we have trained with the pink ball for the last three days. I certainly feel the more time you play with the pink ball, the more you get used to it,’’ he observed.

‘’It will be a challenge playing with the pink ball under the lights. We, as a team, have spoken in the group: We will try and respond to the current situation. And the team will back the decision to do what’s necessary at that point of time. We have watched a lot of games and we do understand what the conditions will offer. As the game goes on, the conditions change a little bit. So, we are well aware of that,’’ Rohit added.

The Australians, taken aback by the pugnacious Indian fightback in Perth, will be ready to strike in conditions which remain their forte, having won 11 of the 12 pink ball Tests they've played so far. Josh Hazlewood, the man who did the most damage with a fifer when India were all out for 36 in the second innings in Adelaide in 2020-21, will be missing out, with the persistent Scott Boland taking his place.

However, Rohit is confident that his boys don’t take the baggage of history too seriously and can snap the Aussies’ winning run under lights. ‘’The young brigade of Jaiswal, Gill or Pant — they come from a different generation and are fearless. They ponder about winning, not simply scoring 100, and that’s our strength,’’ he added.

Catch the match

India vs Australia

Day-night Test at Adelaide

Start: 9.30 am IST