There’s been a lot of buzz around the upcoming Pink Ball Test in the Border-Gavaskar series in Adelaide. The major talking point is Rohit Sharma’s decision to drop in the middle order to accommodate KL Rahul in the opener slot.
Rahul made a fantastic start to the series when Rohit was absent due to the birth of his second child. Not only did the right-hander grab the opportunity with both hands but continued his good form during the warm-up fixture against the Prime Minister’s XI.
With Rohit now dropping down to the No 5 slot in the batting order let’s take a look at his performance a s middle order batter.
Rohit Sharma’s performance in middle-order
In 2013 Rohit Sharma batted in the middle order for the very first time. Playing against the West Indies at Eden Gardens the Hitman scored 177 runs. Batting at No 5 and No 6, Rohit has amassed 1,585 runs in 27 matches at an average of 39.62, including three centuries. He made the switch to openers position in 2019. With Rohit now making his return to the middle order it will be interesting to see how he adapts to the role that he adapted during the start of his career.
Rohit Sharma on his decision to bat in the middle order
While speaking to media ahead of the Australia vs India 2nd Test, Rohit said, “KL will open (in Adelaide). How I came to that decision of, you know, batting down the order is clearly, you know, we want results. We want success.The way he batted and his partnership with Jaiswal was instrumental in that first test win. The way he has batted outside India, he deserves it. I will bat somewhere in the middle. It was a fairly simple decision. Personally, it wasn’t easy (as a batsman) but for the team, it was an easy decision to make,”.
