"India have an option number two for Rohit" - Sanjay Manjrekar suggests batting position for skipper amid KL Rahul's return to form in BGT 2024-25
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar reckons that skipper Rohit Sharma should volunteer to bat at No. 6 so that KL Rahul can continue opening the innings in the second Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 Test against Australia in Adelaide. Manjrekar feels Rohit could find opening the innings tough in the second Test in Adelaide, which is also a pink-ball contest.
Battling poor form, Rahul was dropped from the playing XI for the last two Tests of the home series against New Zealand. He struggled in the second unofficial Test for India A and against Australia A in Melbourne. However, with Rohit unavailable and Shubman Gill injured, Rahul was asked to open the batting in the first Test in Perth and has grabbed his opportunity with both hands.
The enigmatic 32-year-old scored a defiant 26 off 74 in the first innings before being given out caught behind controversially. In the second innings, he is unbeaten on 62, having added 172 for the first wicket the Yashasvi Jaiswal (90*) by stumps on Day 2 on Saturday, November 23.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar opined that Rohit must offer to bat at No. 6 and allow Rahul to continue opening the innings as that would be in the team's best interest in the current scenario.
"Rohit Sharma could suggest, with the kind that form that he has, 'I don't need to open'. If you can drop Ashwin and Jadeja and pick Washington Sundar on current reality, that is an option. It will be tough to do and Rohit Sharma will himself have to decide because there's also that history of Rohit Sharma getting two hundreds in his first two Test matches batting at No. 6," Manjrekar commented.
"Rohit Sharma, with the new ball, pink ball Test match - it is going to be tough, but I guess India will have to go to the captain to bat him in his traditional position. But now, India have an option number two for Rohit. And KL Rahul, whether he bats at number three or bats at number five, we just have an in-form confident batter in the batting line-up," the former India batter added.
The 59-year-old also shared another suggestion from veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara, who opined that Rahul can bat at No. 3, while Gill can move down the order. Reacting to Pujara's option, Manjrekar asserted:
"That again makes a lot of sense. Use KL Rahul's technique, his current form to bat him in the top three because that is where the challenge is really serious."
Meanwhile, India will resume their second innings in Perth on Day 3 with a significant lead of 218 runs. They would look to stretch the lead further and bat Australia out of the contest.
Rohit Sharma has been struggling for form
While Rohit looks set to be available for the second BGT 2024-25 Test, which starts on December 6, his batting form is a cause for concern.
The 37-year-old scored only 91 runs in six innings against New Zealand at home, averaging 15.17 with a best of 52. In 2024, he has played 11 Tests and has scored 588 runs at a poor average of 29.40.