Rohit Sharma explains big sacrifice, says no time for dressing room rumours

Captain Rohit Sharma was at his candid best as he addressed the press on the eve of the second Test between India and Australia in Adelaide.

From confirming that he would give up his opening spot to issuing a warning to Australia, Rohit did not mince his words, steering clear of speculation ahead of the crucial pink-ball Test starting on 6 December.

Rohit Sharma confirmed that the decision to allow KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal to continue opening the batting was not an easy one for him personally but was a straightforward call when prioritising the team’s needs.

Rohit missed the first Test of the much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy to be with his wife for the birth of their second child. He rejoined the team midway through the series opener in Perth. In his absence, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal opened the batting and forged a match-winning 201-run partnership for India in the second innings.

When KL Rahul spoke to the press on Wednesday, he refrained from revealing much about the batting order but mentioned that the team management had informed him of his position. However, Rohit confirmed that he would bat “somewhere in the middle” in the Adelaide Test.

ROHIT EXPLAINS ‘TOUGH’ CALL
“How I came to the decision of batting down the order is clearly we want results, we want success, and those two guys at the top… just looking at this one Test match, they batted brilliantly,” he said.

“I was at home with my newborn in my arms, and I was watching how KL batted. It was brilliant to watch. I felt that there’s no need to change that now. Maybe in the future, things will be different. I don’t know.

“So, based on what has happened and what KL Rahul has shown outside of India, he probably deserves that place at this point in time. It is something that has brought us success in the first Test. You have that one big partnership with Jaiswal on the other side, and you know, it probably won us the Test match. When you come here, in a place like Perth, and you get 500 runs or so, it’s such a massive tick in the box.

“I don’t see why we need to change that. What I saw from the outside looked brilliant, and there was no need to change anything. “It was pretty simple for me. Personally, not easy. But for the team, it made a lot of sense.”

Rohit Sharma will return to the middle after 64 innings in Test cricket. Since making a career-changing move to opening the batting in whites, Rohit has never batted in the middle order. However, the skipper seems to have put the team’s interests ahead of his own for the crucial pink-ball Test.

Rohit has not been in the best of form with the bat—he scored only 91 runs in three Tests at home against New Zealand. A return to the middle order might give him time and more awareness of the conditions in Adelaide to try and return to his best.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma also steered clear of discussing the rumours of a rift in the Australian dressing room over Josh Hazlewood’s comments during the first Test. Rohit used the opportunity to highlight the morale in the Indian dressing room, especially after the 295-run win in Perth.

“I have no idea about all this. I am completely out of all those external things that happen. I don’t know what to say. It’s happening. I can’t tell what’s happening in their dressing room. I seriously have no idea about it. I don’t know what I can say about it. But clearly, there’s a superb environment here, which we want to enjoy,” he said.

BOYS NOT AFRAID TO GIVE IT BACK: ROHIT

The series opener saw some playful exchanges between the two sides, but tensions could escalate with the pressure of the remainder of the series. When asked about his approach, Rohit said India would not seek confrontation but would not shy away from responding if provoked.

“As far as I am concerned, it’s just bat vs ball. All those are external factors. Personally, for me, I don’t really look too much into that. That’s my personal view on it,” Rohit said. “If something is happening, the boys are not afraid to give it back. If there is a conversation happening in the middle, boys are not afraid of doing that either. Those are the things I look into.

“But, personally, there’s so much to think about. These are not important. Personally, I think about how to get the right results. Those are the things that I think about when I play the game,” he added. India were bundled out for 36 the last time they played a pink-ball Test in Australia. The memories of the Adelaide Test in 2020 still remain fresh, but Rohit said India are keen on challenging Australia’s near-perfect record in day-night Tests.

Australia have played 12 pink-ball Tests and have won 11 of them. Their only loss came earlier this year against the West Indies in Brisbane.

“We, as a team, try and think about the present and not the past. I know they have a good record in pink-ball Tests. But records are meant to be broken. At some stage, records will be broken. From our point of view, we have had a great start to the series. We will just try and build on that. Our focus is on trying and doing the right things for a longer period of time. That’s important in Test cricket. If we keep doing the things that we did in Perth, I think we can get the results we’re looking for,” he said.

RECORDS ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN: ROHIT’S BIG WARNING
Rohit acknowledged the challenges of playing against the pink ball but expressed confidence in the team’s preparation to handle them.

“It is just about getting used to the pace of the ball. We are so used to playing with the red ball. The pink ball certainly does more than the red ball. At the same time, we have trained with the pink ball for the last three days. I certainly feel the more time you play with the pink ball, the more you get used to it.

“Yes, there will be challenges. It will be a challenge playing with the pink ball under the lights. We, as a team, have spoken in the group: We will try and respond to the current situation. And the team will back the decision to do what’s necessary at that point of time. We have watched a lot of games and we do understand what the conditions will offer. As the game goes on, the conditions change a little bit. So, we are well aware of that,” he said.

Rohit could not have asked for a better start to the Test series in Australia. Now, it is time for India to go back to square one and try to unsettle Australia, who rarely make mistakes with the pink ball in hand.