Indian test captain Rohit Sharma put aside concerns about key batters’ Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill’s disappointing form in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.
Jaiswal returned with a sensational 161-run knock in Perth to help the visitors secure a dominating victory by 295 runs. However, since then, his form has dwindled. The southpaw returned with knocks of 0 & 24 in the pink-ball test in Adelaide, which saw Australia winning by 10 wickets. Thereafter, Jaiswal was dismissed for 4 in the first innings in Gabba, while getting dismissed in only the second delivery of the innings.
However, Rohit thinks the 22-year-old needs to be given free hand to play his natural game and remains confident of him coming good in Melbourne.
“When you have a guy like [Jaiswal] in your squad, in your team, you don’t want to tamper too much with his mindset,” Rohit said. “Let him be as free as possible and not overburdened with too many thoughts regarding his batting. He understands his batting more than any one of us, you know.”
Meanwhile, Gill started out the series with knocks of 31 & 28 in Adelaide. He got starts but failed to convert them into big knocks. Then, he was dismissed for 1 in Gabba, while getting out playing a reckless shot.
Rohit Sharma lauded Shubman Gill’s talent to score big runs under pressure and said:
“Talking about Gill, I mean, look, he is quality, we all know that. It’s just about backing that quality and making sure, you know, we give clear messaging to him and not, again, like Jaiswal, we don’t want to complicate too many things with him.
“So he knows how to score big runs. So it’s just making sure that when you get those 30s, 40s, you try and get on to a big one. Because getting in here is the toughest part. And when you get in, that is when you cannot leave that opportunity of scoring that big runs.”
Rohit Sharma himself has been struggling with lackluster form
Along with Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, the Indian team needs contributions from their captain Rohit Sharma in the Melbourne test.
After missing the Perth test, Rohit Sharma batted at No. 6 to accommodate KL Rahul at the opening slot. He failed badly, returning with knocks of 3 & 6 in Adelaide and then scored only 10 in Gabba. In the post-match press conference, ‘Hitman’ expressed his desire to spend more time on the crease and contribute to the team’s total.
The series is currently tied 1-1, and it all depends upon the response of the Indian batters, whether they pull socks against a strong Australian challenge. India and Australia will clash in the Boxing Day test in Melbourne from December 26-30.
FAQs
What happened in last IND-AUS test in Melbourne?
India won by 8 wickets
Who is India’s top-scorer in current WTC cycle?
Yashasvi Jaiswal – 1600 runs
