Legendary Sunil Gavaskar has put his weight behind Rohit Sharma to bounce back stronger in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia. Rohit could neither shine as a batter nor as a captain in the second pink-ball Test match at Adelaide.

Many cricket experts reckon that Rohit was defensive as a leader and failed to take the game by its horns. However, Gavaskar has backed Rohit to make a solid comeback in the third Test of the series.

“Neither, he has never been under pressure at all. Everybody knows what he can do and how he can deliver. He will probably be the least worried of the lot. I think we are all concerned because of the fact that he didn’t score runs in the Adelaide game, but he is perfectly capable of coming back and coming back in a big way,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports when he was asked if Rohit will be under the pump both as a batter and as a skipper.

Meanwhile, Rohit demoted himself to number six in the middle order after KL Rahul grabbed his opening opportunity at Perth. However, Rohit was dismissed after aggregating only nine runs in the second Test. Gavaskar reckons Rohit should open the batting in place of KL Rahul in the third Test at Brisbane.

“If he opens the batting or bats down the order, the pitch should not be an issue. It’s just a question of making that mental adjustment. For the last four or five years, you have been the opening bat. Then you come here and because of the double-century partnership at Perth, you do not disturb the opening pair of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal,” Gavaskar observed.

“That made sense but because he has been an opening bat and likes to take responsibility as the captain and the leader of the pack, I think he will want to open the batting. I don’t think it sends any signals because Rahul, before the Perth Test, had been batting in the middle order,” the cricketer-turned-commentator added.

The third Test match between India and Australia will be played at the Gabba, Brisbane from December 14.