The senior Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara has given his opinion in regard to the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma’s poor form in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, attributing it to the challenges of switching from his customary opening role to batting in the middle order. Cheteshwar Pujara believes that this change has disrupted Rohit’s rhythm and created self-doubt, compounded by the mounting pressure of low scores.
Rohit Sharma’s struggles were evident again on Day 4 of the third Test in Brisbane where he managed only 10 runs off 27 balls before edging a fuller delivery from Pat Cummins to Alex Carey behind the stumps.
Talking about the dismissal, Pujara stated that it wasn’t the length on which the batter can drive, in fact fuller-length is hard to drive. Talking about Rohit Sharma, Pujara said that he punched that ball but he should have defended that ball. As per him, the tough part is that Rohit Sharma is not among the runs and this has increased the pressure on him in a considerable manner.
This technical error, combined with Rohit’s lack of runs (19 runs in three innings in this series), has only added to the captain’s woes.
Rohit Sharma, who has primarily excelled as an opener in Tests, moved to No. 6 upon his return to the playing XI after missing the first Test in Perth due to personal reasons. This decision allowed KL Rahul, who performed well as an opener, to retain his position at the top of the order.
Cheteshwar Pujara elaborated on the psychological and technical difficulties of this shift as he said that he is batting at number 6 for the team but since he has been opening for so many years, the wait for his chance to bat must have increased his doubts and must have affected his momentum as well.
While Rohit struggles, KL Rahul has been in stellar form, making it challenging for India to justify a shuffle in the batting order. Rahul was a top-scorer with a resilient 84 in the first innings at the Gabba, holding the innings together amidst regular falling of wickets.
The decision to move Rohit down the order was taken in consultation with the team management and the captain himself, prioritising team balance. However, with the skipper out of form and a critical series in the balance, India faces a tough choice.
With two matches remaining in the series, the pressure is mounting on Rohit Sharma to deliver especially when his captaincy decisions are also questioned. A strong performance could silence critics and justify his position in the lineup but another failure might push the management to reconsider his role in the batting order.
For now, Rohit’s struggles underline the broader challenges of adapting to a new role under high-pressure circumstances, even for a seasoned player like him.
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