Ravi Shastri said that Rohit Sharma’s role in the current team would be similar to that of Virender Sehwag during his playing days and setup the game nicely for the middle order. Sharma is unbeaten on 56 against Australia in the first Test.
New Delhi,UPDATED: Feb 10, 2023 08:49 IST
Sharma played an aggressive knock on Day one of the first Test (Courtesy: AP)
By India Today Web Desk: Ravi Shastri said that Rohit Sharma’s role would be similar to that of Virender Sehwag during his playing days and make the job easier for the middle order.
After bundling out Australia for just 177 runs, Sharma took the attack to the visitors and put India in the driving seat at the end of the day’s play on Thursday.
The India captain is currently batting at 56 from 69 balls as he played a very aggressive innings. Speaking on ICC Review, as quoted by Sportskeeda, Shastri said that Sharma’s role will be similar to that of Sehwag and set up the game for the Indian middle order.
“If Rohit stays there, he gets it quickly. He won’t allow any bowler to settle. Runs will come much like Viru at his best.”
“When Virender Sehwag was in form, he made the job for the middle order a lot easier by really taking it to the opposition early on. His role will be that.”
Shastri went on to say that the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 will not be a test of Sharma’s captaincy and said that the opener has nothing to prove as the skipper. The former India coach also hailed Sharma as a good reader of the game.
“I don’t think it’s a test of his captaincy. He’s past that. He’s a very good captain and he is a smart operator and let’s not forget his record in India as an opening batsman is stunning. Tactically, I have no issues. He’ll do the job. He, he knows what to do, when to do it…I don’t think he has to prove tactically or anything to anyone as a captain.”
“He does his homework. He is very good with his homework. He is very big on, I wouldn’t say stats, but with the analyst, he’ll work out a lot of things. Tactically he knows.”
“When you’re a good reader of the game, you’re very quick in your thinking when it comes to reading a batter. As to which bowler could be the right guy at that moment of time, what’s happening with the state of the game.”
