Rohit Sharma In Middle Order For Pink-Ball Test: A Masterstroke Or Blunder?

Aashay Chopade

Rohit Sharma in practice match vs PM XI (Source:@rohann__18/X.com)Rohit Sharma in practice match vs PM XI (Source:@rohann__18/X.com)

Rohit Sharma is one of the finest batters in the current generation and will go down as white-ball legend. He has been a fantastic leader too, winning five IPL trophies and a T20 World Cup for India. However, his relation with Test cricket has been hot and cold over the years, and though he is the captain of the Indian Test side, recent failures have raised questions about his utility as a Test batter.

Rohit Sharma started off his career as a middle-order batter, but was pretty inconsistent in his initial years. MS Dhoni promoted him as an opener in white-ball cricket and it changed his career completely. He shattered records in white-ball cricket, but his Test performances were still a concern. It seemed like he would never make it at the Test level, but the duo of Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri decided to open with him in the 2019 home series against South Africa and it reignited his Test career.

It all went well for  five years, but now after the failures against New Zealand, it seems that Hitman is ready for another move, and this time he is likely to go back to his original middle-order position. The fact that the drastic move will come in the pink-ball Test of a high-profile series like BGT in Australia makes it a very bold call from the team management and let's try to analyze the nature of the move and its repercussions on the Indian team for the Adelaide Test.

Do Stats Support Rohit Sharma's Demotion To Middle Order?

Out of 111 Test innings, Rohit Sharma has played 64 innings as an opener and has scored nine hundreds and eight fifties. His average is also quite healthy at 44.02 and the rate at which he scores runs always makes him a dangerous batter at the top of the order. So, there is no doubt that move to the top of the order has revived his Test career, and his record as an opener is better than what it is from number 3 to number five. 

Batting Position
Innings
Runs
Average
100/50s
As Opener64268544.029/8
At Number Six25103754.283/4

However, at the number six position, Rohit has a better average than as an opener as he has scored 1037 runs in 25 innings. His average is 54.58 with three hundreds and six fifties, and it is the position where he will most likely fit in for the second Test in place of Dhruv Jurel. So, even though the sample size is small, the stats show that he can excel in that position.

Maintenance Of Consistency Or A Panic Move?

One of the thought process of bringing back Rohit Sharma in the middle order is that it will help India largely maintain the batting order that was in place for the Perth Test. KL Rahul scored runs at the top of the order in both the innings and looked pretty assured with his defence and strokes. 

Also, his opening stand with Yashasvi Jaiswal played a big part in India's success in the first Test, so now bringing KL Rahul down the order will not be fair on the Karnataka batter. Also, Rohit Sharma has not been at his best as a Test opener recently and has struggled against the moving ball. Also, the plan to play aggressively at the top of the order is not working like it has done in white-ball formats, and it has created pressure on the Indian captain. So, sometimes, a change in environment can help a player find his mojo back, and this move could help Rohit and India to maintain their dominance over Aussies in the second Test.

Rohit's Experience As Opener - Secret Weapon For Middle-Muddle?

Batting at number five or number six in the pink-ball Test, would most probably mean that Rohit would have to bat under lights in Pink-Ball Test. In the day-night Test, he ball tends to move a lot under lights, especially during the twilight period and Rohit's experience of batting against the moving ball as an opener can help India. 

Also, there is a chance that he might come out to bat around the second new ball which would be a pretty hard period to negotiate and in such situation, having a batter like Rohit Sharma in the middle could prove to be extremely beneficial.

Conclusion 

So, the move to bring Rohit Sharma down the order is surely a decision that will raise eyebrows. However, it has the potential to turn into a masterstroke, given the conditions and the dynamics of the Indian team after the first Test.