"Your numbers against Australia are not that good" - Irfan Pathan on the challenges for Rohit Sharma in Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Irfan Pathan feels Rohit Sharma will be challenged both as a batter and captain in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
India will lock horns with Australia in a four-match Test series, with the first game to be played in Nagpur from February 9. The hosts might need to win the series by at least a two-game margin to assure themselves of a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
During a discussion on the Star Sports show 'Game Plan', Pathan was asked whether captaincy or batting will be more important for Rohit Sharma, to which he responded:
"Both will go together. The reason for that is you have not captained much in Test cricket, you have captained in ODI cricket. You don't just have the captaincy challenge but also the challenge of the Australian team."
"Your eyes will be on the WTC final and your form. Your form in white-ball cricket is very good but your numbers against Australia are not that good. So you will want to better that. So it is clear that he will want to bat better and will definitely want to win this series as captain, will not want to lose to Australia especially."
Hitman Rohit Sharma Traning ahead of India vs Australia Test Series https://t.co/avaIsHQ2F4
Rohit has aggregated 408 runs at a below-par average of 31.38 in the seven Tests he has played against Australia. The Indian skipper, who averages 73.33 in India, has never played a Test against the Aussies on home soil.
"He has already shown it by doing it" - Sanjay Bangar on what should be Rohit Sharma's approach
Sanjay Bangar was further asked about the approach Rohit Sharma should follow as an opener, to which he replied:
"He has already shown it by doing it. You spoke about England where he brought the discipline in his batting outside the off stump. That discipline will be required while playing against the new ball because two of Hazlewood, Starc and Pat Cummins will definitely play."
The former Indian batting coach feels Rohit can dismantle the Aussie spinners if he survives the new ball, elaborating:
"If he plays out the new ball, we have seen how he dominated spin on a turning track like Chennai. Very few Indian players have so many attacking shots that can destroy the spinners. The Australian spinners could be a major threat. I feel discipline with the new ball and then attacking approach against the spinners."
This BGT is going to be a huge test for Rohit Sharma.
Pant and potentially even Iyer are not there and Kohli has struggled against spin in Tests lately.
His 161 in Chennai proved to be pivotal and something similar is needed against Australia.
Make-or-break time.
#BGT https://t.co/spJk3ZjUbC
Rohit scored 161 of the 248 runs India scored before his dismissal in their first innings of the second Test against England in Chennai in February 2021. The knock helped India draw level in the four-match series, which they eventually won by a 3-1 margin to qualify for the inaugural WTC finals.