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He is being encouraged to return to opening by the talking heads of Indian cricket but Rohit Sharma may just avoid being swayed by the proverbial outside noise and stick to the number six slot for at least the third Test against Australia in Brisbane starting this weekend. Rohit, who was on paternity break during the opening Test and scored 3 and 6 on his return during the 'Pink Ball' game, is facing calls for his return to the top in the batting order in place of KL Rahul, who too had an indifferent game in Adelaide after his heroics in Perth. If one looks at Rohit's statistics in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia), across all batting positions in 46 completed innings, he averages a shade less than 30 while in 20 innings as opener, he scores at 37.8 thanks largely to the successful English summer of 2021.
When PTI spoke to a BCCI Level 3 coach, who has previously worked at the National Cricket Academy, on technical aspects of the swashbuckler's game, he dissected Rohit's technique to explain why opening might not be a good option for the Indian captain at the moment.
"Rohit Sharma has had very limited footwork all his career, even when he was in his prime. Obviously, at 37 and half years, the reflexes have slowed down and he is picking the length a trifle late," the qualified batting coach told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
"The same Rohit will look very different in the IPL where you might still find him scoring a 35-ball-70 for Mumbai Indians with opposition having at least a couple of mid-130s domestic bowler," he added.
But then why is No. 6 better for Rohit in the third Test? The coach has a technical response for it.
"If you look at Rohit's dismissals even in India, he is getting squared up more often than not. The reason being his front-foot stride is becoming shorter with age. For example, if you have pronounced front-foot side, say three feet, you are able to cut the angle of deviation of a delivery off the surface.
"But if your stride is just a foot and quarter, you are allowing the same delivery to shape in or shape out. So, a world-class bowler will attack both your inside edge and outside edge," the coach, who is also a former opener, explained.
He then gave his reasons for why Rohit will be better off playing at No. 6 at the Gabba.
"To be fair, if your stride is shorter and reflexes on the wane, the Pink Kookaburra will make it even more difficult for you to survive. I think KL had said before the game that it comes a lot quicker than Red Kookaburra and it skids off the surface.
"With his current footwork, the Red Kookaburra would again dart around and seam at the Gabba if he opens. If he comes in at No. 6, there is every chance that it will be either old or semi-old Kookaburra with suppressed seam and it won't do much.
"He can play his customary attacking game and get quick runs. If he comes when the second new ball is taken, that means (Mitchell) Starc and (Pat) Cummins have both bowled 25 odd overs," he elaborated his point.
But then Rohit was reasonably successful in England during the 2021 tour when he scored his only Test hundred in a SENA country -- 127 at the Oval. If one watches his performance in that series, the front foot stride to cover the swing and seam movement was more pronounced than what one saw in the last few Tests.
Also in England, the ball deviates at a bigger angle compared to Australia and at times even with a shorter stride, one might just edge and miss.
Former national selector Devang Gandhi put forth a more lucid explanation.
"Just compare Rohit and Virat Kohli's stance. Rohit has a wider stance and his stride won't be big. Virat has a narrow stance and hence the front foot stride is that pronounced as you witness.
"Coming to Rohit's batting position, No. 6 is correct call by team management. There isn't enough data in SENA countries to suggest that he has had tremendous success as an opener," he said.
Earlier former coach Ravi Shastri had said that he wants Rohit to come at the top as he looks too subdued in the middle-order.
"That's the reason I want him at the top. That's where he can be aggressive and expressive. Just thought he was a little too subdued, just seeing his body language," Shastri told 'Star Sports'.
Sunil Gavaskar echoed the sentiment.
"The fact that he didn't make runs, I don't think there was enough on the field there. I just wanted to see him more involved, and a little more animated," Shastri said.
"He should return to his regular spot. We should remember why Rahul had opened. He did that because Rohit Sharma was not available for the first Test," Gavaskar said on 'Sports Tak'.