Rohit Sharma is an extremely curious case - he has aced the limited-overs format but has struggled to nail down a spot in Test cricket. The right-hander has been given multiple opportunities to be successful in the longest format but has struggled to hit his stride. However, former India opener Gautam Gambhir has not given up on the Mumbai man and he believes that Rohit will soon find his footing even in Test cricket.
Gambhir believes Rohit can become a complete Test batsman if former cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar or Rahul Dravid spend some time with him. "He needs to carry this batting form into Test cricket. I'd go on to say that if someone like a Rahul Dravid or Sachin Tendulkar mentors him for a few months, we may get a completely polished, Test-ready batsman," Gambhir wrote in his column for Times of India.
Rohit could bat at number 5
Gambhir also observed that Rohit seems to get bored in Test cricket and this is where he needs to sit down and work out his game with batting greats like Tendulkar or Dravid. "If things start rolling for Rohit just imagine India's Test line up with Pujara at number three, Virat at 4 and Rohit at number 5," Gambhir wrote.
India's vice-captain in the limited-overs format, Rohit has been in flawless form and has continued his run-making spree from the World Cup. After smacking five centuries in the World Cup, he looked good even in the T20I and this augurs well for India as they prepare to face West Indies in the ODI series.
"Rohit Sharma is batting as if there is a GPS on his bat with location settings filtered for the white cricket ball. So flawless has been his display that even a coaching manual is looking like a grey market "first copy". I think this is the moment when Rohit needs someone in his ears to convey the importance of this form. He needs to convert this into big and consistent scores," Gambhir added.
After clinching the T20I series, India will now face West Indies in the 3-match ODI series, the first match of which will be played in Guyana. There are a number of new faces in the squad and hence, it remains interesting to see who gets a go-ahead at the much talked about number 4 position.
With Shikhar Dhawan back as the opener, India have options in KL Rahul, Manish Pandey and Shreyas Iyer for the middle-order.
