Former PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja has claimed that the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be a test of Rohit Sharma’s captaincy as he leads India for the first time in the Test series against Australia. Raja also wants to see India hand Suryakumar Yadav his Test debut in the game in Nagpur.
New Delhi,UPDATED: Feb 8, 2023 18:36 IST
Rohit Sharma will be leading India for the first time in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (Courtesy: AP)
By India Today Web Desk: Former Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ramiz Raja has said that Rohit Sharma’s captaincy will be put to the test during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, which will begin on 9th February.
Sharma will be leading the team for the first time in the iconic series, as he looks to help India continue their dominance over the Aussies in the series.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, as quoted by NDTV, Raja said that the Indian opener’s captaincy will be put to the test during the series against Australia. He said that the Aussies would be fighting hard in very single session in the first Test and the strategies and selection would have to fool proof.
“Rohit Sharma’s captaincy will be put to the test, there is no doubt about that. There isn’t going to be a single session in the first Test where Australia won’t fight hard. There won’t be any flat sessions. The strategy needs to be fool-proof and so does the selection. There also needs to be clarity over the conditions they want to trump Australia,” said Raja.
A big conundrum for India has been who would replace Shreyas Iyer in the Indian batting lineup at No.5. Iyer failed to recover from a back injury in time for the series. Shubman Gill and Suryakumar have reportedly been in the mix for the spot and Raja said that India should hand the T20I stalwart his Test debut in Nagpur.
The former PCB Chairman said the 32-year-old will generate pace with the bat and it is what will get the thumbs up in the game.
“India should play Suryakumar Yadav. He will generate pace with the bat. They have named a lot of T20 players in their squad for the first two Tests, which is good because action is what gets a thumbs-up from everyone in Test cricket these days. We saw how England scored 350-400 runs in a single day against Pakistan. The more pace you generate, the more pressure you can create. India have a great opportunity to create pressure,” said Raja.
