IND vs AUS: Rohit Sharma confirmed that he will bat in the middle-order in the second Test in Adelaide. (PTI)
On the eve of India’s pink-ball Test against Australia in Adelaide, captain Rohit Sharma has confirmed that KL Rahul will partner Yashasvi Jaiswal as opener in the pink-ball affair.
“KL will open (in Adelaide). The way he batted and his partnership with Jaiswal was instrumental in that first test win. The way he has batted outside India, he deserves it. I will bat somewhere in the middle. It was a fairly simple decision. Personally, it wasn’t easy (as a batsman) but for the team, it was an easy decision to make,” Rohit told reporters in Adelaide on Thursday.
The 37-year-old Rohit, who has arguably been India’s leading Test since the inception of the World Test Championship in 2019, has been under scrutiny ever since the team’s 0-3 home series whitewash against New Zealand in November.
Rohit only crossed fifty once in six innings the series and finished with 93 runs. His average of 15.16 was the worst of his Test career in a series where he played at least three matches.
Missing the first Test in Perth due to the birth of his second child, Rohit was replaced by Rahul at the top of the order. Rahul and Jaiswal forged a crucial second-innings stand, a record 201 partnership that helped India brave a first-innings debacle to set up a 295-run win over the hosts.
After a stop-start Test career between 2013 and 2018, Rohit moved up to opening in Tests in late 2019, and amassed 2685 runs in 64 innings with nine hundreds, the most for India in the period.
Ashwin, Jadeja remain crucial
While both of India’s spin stalwarts R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja missed out on the opening Test, Rohit affirmed that the duo will be integral in the remainder of the series. Off-spinner Washington Sundar played as the lone spinner in Perth where the seamers led by Jasprit Bumrah dominated proceedings.
“I wasn’t there personally to break the news to Ashwin and Jadeja that they won’t be playing at Perth. The management went with the best team they thought that suited that pitch. These two will play a role in the rest of the series. They have been massive to India’s record in the past. We shall look at the pitches and decide,” Rohit said.
Rohit also lauded Sundar as a valuable all-round asset and said: “Washington came to Australia on the last tour, got crucial runs and took wickets. Unfortunately, he got injured. He is a solid all-rounder. The team gets confident with players like him. I just hope he stays injury free. I only see his graph going up from here.”
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