What does India want? Win BGT or bring Rohit Sharma back to form?

In case the opener KL Rahul or Yashasvi Jaiswal had been struggling, Rohit’s elevation would have made sense. But with his form, and more importantly the form and touch of the openers, the change of batting order wasn’t really warranted.

Even in this Test, Rohit opening in the second inning makes more sense. When the team is chasing, the ploy to throw in the early punch to rattle the Aussies sounds like a good plan. Not so in the first innings on a fresher pitch. Not when the form isn’t great. Not when it’s not needed.

India’s captain Rohit Sharma looks on as rain delays play during play on day three of the third cricket test between India and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Pat Hoelscher)

With the Kookaburra ball doing its thing in the first 30 overs, Rohit is better off landing counter punches in the middle-order. He has been trying to survive there, poking and prodding at the ball as if he were a bomb-defusing agent; if he wishes to be more proactive and aggressive, the middle-order spot is ideal.

Even a quick 30, say, as an opener, with a gorgeous six and a couple of belligerent fours, isn’t going to help India. The ball will still seam around and others will still have to regroup and fight.

Like the recent Chess championship has shown us; the openings can be smart and sharp, but not really sustainable. A counterattacking knock down the order can be helpful, particularly if there has been a middle-order mini-collapse.

So the juggling of the top-order was not a wise move. India don’t need Rohit to be successful so desperately; they need the team to be successful and retain the BGT. For a captain who had heroically put the team above himself thus far, and also in the past set the white-ball template and dragged the limited-overs team to modern times by himself by his aggressive batting, this move is pretty odd. And the reasons are unconvincing.

It’s not an act of a selfish man, but that of a man desperate to show his utility. Maybe, he wanted to set the tone like he has done in the past, but with three innings potentially left for him, it’s now or bust. Now that he has pitched himself back as opener – – one expects him to continue doing it rather than bailing out — he has to be proactive, alert, alive to the moment. With this pitch likely to easen up even more and Sydney is never a fast-bowling paradise, he has better chances of pulling it off. For that, though, the mind and body have to be in sync.

India’s captain Rohit Sharma, center, and his batting partner KL Rahul leaves the field as rain stops play during play on day three of the third cricket test between India and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia. (AP)

On this relatively demons-free pitch, it shouldn’t have surprised him that Pat Cummins would try surprising him with a shortish ball – and that it won’t be on the legside but the one that lands outside off and shapes away. A typical Cummins short ball that he often tries with the new ball to the right-handed batsmen who like to pull.

Rohit’s instinct to pull might have been age-old, but so is the body and the form now. The shift in weight transfer wasn’t swift enough, and he saw the away movement rather late in the piece to pull out. Instead, he tried to adjust his hands to sort of swat it around, hoping his bat came around in time and in place to cover for the movement and bounce. Instead, it only looped up towards mid-on. Such things can happen; he isn’t the first batsman to get out trying to fetch a pull from outside off. But he would have to change a few things to see success on this tour.

As Ricky Ponting put it on Channel 7, “That’s just a lazy, not switched on, not up for the moment type of shot. He’s been known as one of the best hookers and pullers of the ball since he’s made his debut but that’s just not there. It’s nothing. It’s not committed, not really looking to be aggressive, he’s just looking to tap it on the head. Might have held in the wicket, yes, it might have seamed away from him a fraction. But if you’re going to survive against this Australian attack, you’ve got to be switched on. You’ve got to be making good decisions. If you’re not, they’ll knock you over every time.”

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma. (AP )

It’s his stature and white-ball past that possibly makes his backers believe that this gamble comes off. Since it’s Rohit, people might be wary of making a pronouncement against him, hedging their bets, and murmur, ‘Yes, it can be a success, he should go out there and just smash, you never know and such’.

But the question is: What was the need? This move topples Rahul from his best spot, messes with Shubman Gill, and tremors can be even felt in Virat Kohli and Nitish Reddy. India’s approach at the top isn’t an issue.

If there has been one solid batsman at the top this series, it has been Rahul. Even Jaiswal has been dismissed a couple of times cheaply only due to his impetuosity, not because he has been sorted out by the Australian attack. That opening pair has been India’s bright spot in the batting.

India have to win one of the two Tests to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and they may feel like throwing a counterpunch first, instead of waiting and watching. Fair brave sentiment, but that blow can come in other ways. Not creating a potential problem where none exists – at the opening.

It can be argued that Gill had to be dropped for the balance – Nitish Reddy can bowl a few overs and is in good form with the bat. Washington Sundar’s spin can be useful in Australia’s second innings. Even that doesn’t mean Rohit has to open. But that’s water under the bridge now; the decision has been made. Reputation and a career is on the line. It’s time for that one-for-the-road knock.