Former Australian captain Michael Clarke wants Rohit Sharma to bat at number five in the second Test match against Australia. Rohit missed the opening Test due to personal reasons and in his absence, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal opened the innings.
Rahul and Jaiswal were able to deliver the goods as they added 201 runs for the opening alliance in the second innings, which is the highest stand for India in the Australian conditions.
On the other hand, Rohit Sharma isn’t in the best of forms as he could only manage 91 runs in three Test matches against New Zealand. Rohit was also dismissed for only three runs in the pink-ball practice match against Prime Ministers XI.
Clarke feels Rohit Sharma can take the attack against Nathan Lyon when the ball becomes soft while batting at five.
“I think he will bat at No. 5 in the Test match. They’ll leave KL Rahul up at the top. Shubman Gill looks fit as well; he made some runs, so he will come back in at No. 3. Virat 4, and I think the skipper will bat 5. If he wants to open, he opens; if he wants to bat 5, he’ll bat five. He is extremely aggressive, takes on the short ball, dominates spin bowling, and will look to be ultra-aggressive to Nathan Lyon through the middle of the innings,” Michael Clarke said on Around the Wicket podcast.
“So yeah, if he chooses to bat 5, I can see why It’s his role to work out what’s best for the team and go with that. In Australian conditions, I can understand if he does bat five, now that KL Rahul looked good in the first Test,” Clarke added.
On the other hand, former Australian captain Aaron Finch believes the Indian team looks potent, with Rohit Sharma batting number five.
“If he (Rohit) bats at five, with the ball getting a little bit softer, it can be hard to score. But India are so aggressive through that middle order. It will be a fascinating watch because that team looks a lot better with Rohit at 5, in my opinion. KL Rahul looked the best of the Indian batters in really difficult conditions, particularly in the first innings, so they’ll leave him at the top,” said Finch on the Around the Wicket podcast.
The second Test match between Australia and India, which will be a pink-ball game, will be played at Adelaide Oval from December 6 onwards.
