Indian test skipper Rohit Sharma clarified that KL Rahul will open the innings for India along with Yashasvi Jaiswal at Adelaide in the pink-ball test of the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.

On Thursday (December 5), the Hitman confirmed during the pre-match press conference that he would bat at any place in the middle order by not specifying the exact position. Although it wouldn’t be easy for him, but had to sacrifice his opening spot for the team’s success.

After missing out on the first test in Perth due to the birth of his second child, Rohit’s return was good news but raised confusion about his batting position. Moreover, there were uncertainties about the changes if Rahul-Jaiswal’s opening combination would be changed for the day-night test match.

In the opening test, KL Rahul proved his worth during Rohit Sharma’s absence by scoring a crucial 77 runs and maintaining a record-breaking opening partnership of 201 runs with Yashasvi Jaiswal in India’s 2nd innings. The Indian captain said that he watched Rahul’s performance at home which makes him deserve the opener’s role and wouldn’t change the opening pair considering the team’s benefits and interests.

Meanwhile, the former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh revealed his suggestion that Rohit Sharma should bat at the No.3 position while the ex-Indian selector Devang Gandhi suggests the No.6 spot for the Adelaide Test. Amidst the confusion regarding Team India’s batting line-up, several doubts arise will Ravichandran Ashwin end his exile in SENA tests since 2022?

Rohit Sharma’s Batting Position in Middle Order

Since 2019, Rohit Sharma hasn’t batted down the order as his career upgraded batting at the opening slot, which makes him feel unnatural batting in the middle order. The previous occasion he batted at the No.6 position was in the third test match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2018-19 at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Australia.

The recently concluded 2-day warm-up match at Manuka Oval in Canberra was an indication of India’s batting line-up for day-night tests. In the absence of Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma batted at 4th position allowing KL Rahul to open the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal with Shubman Gill batting at the No.3 spot. However, he might not prefer the No.4 slot as he managed to score just 3 runs out of 11 balls in the practice test.

Furthermore, the inclusion of Kohli and Pant in the playing XI could leave Rohit Sharma to bat at the No.3 or No.6 spot.

Possible Reasons Why Rohit Sharma Might Bat at No.6 in Upcoming Tests

 Rohit Sharma would prefer batting at the sixth position rather than the No.3 to No.5 spot due to these reasons:

• 3rd Position: Shubman Gill who missed out on the Perth Test due to a fractured thumb is certain to bat at the No.3 position for the pink-ball test in Adelaide. He scored a half-century out of 62 balls in the rehearsal test against the Prime Minister’s XI including 7 fours at a strike rate of 80.65.
  
• 4th Position: Virat Kohli’s No.4 spot to be unchanged as he came back to his best form by registering his 30th test century in Perth. Here is the comparison of Kohli vs Rohit’s stats in test cricket batting at fourth position:

• 5th Position: Rishabh Pant has outperformed Rohit Sharma in batting at the No.5 spot and the below tabulated stats reveal the fact:

• 6th Position: Rohit Sharma maintains an impressive record in the past batted at No.6 by accumulating 1,037 runs in 16 matches averaging at 54.57, which includes three centuries and six half-centuries to his name. 

Harbhajan Singh vs. Devang Gandhi: 3rd vs. 6th Batting Position for Rohit Sharma

Here are the contrasting opinions of Harbhajan Singh and Devang Gandhi about Rohit Sharma’s batting position for the Adelaide test:

Rohit Should Bat at No.3: Says Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh says that Rohit Sharma will bat at the No.3 position for the pink-ball test. The ex-Indian cricketer feels that the top four in the batting order are the starting four pillars of the team and having an explosive batter like Rohit in such positions rather than No.6 would add strength to the batting lineup.

Easy for an Opener like Rohit to Bat at No.6: Says Devang Gandhi

The former Indian selector Devang Gandhi voiced his opinion that it would be a challenging task for a middle-order batter to bat in the opening slot in the later stages of his career. But, it could be less difficult for an opening batter to perform well in the middle order, especially for Rohit Sharma who started his test career batting at the No.6 spot for India.

Ashwin’s Chances to End His Exile in SENA: Final Opinion

As Rohit Sharma is expected to bat down the order, there are fewer chances for the spin-bowling all-rounders Ravichandran Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja to be a part of the playing XI.

Moreover, India might not take the risk of making any changes in the bowling lineup and would prefer Washington Sundar as the only spinner, who grabbed 2 wickets in the completing phase of 2nd innings in the Perth Test. Moreover, the Tamil Nadu all-rounder in the practice test against PM’s XI scored a brisk 42 runs out of just 36 balls including 5 fours batting at a strike rate of 116.67.

Finally, Ashwin’s exile seems to continue even for the Day/Night tests in Adelaide since his last test appearance against South Africa at the Newlands stadium in Cape Town in January 2022.