Captain Rohit Sharma would open or bat at number three in Adelaide Test against Australia, opined former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Monday while ruling out the possibility of the senior star walking in at number five or six. The Perth Test’s second innings saw KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal getting together for a record 201-run opening partnership, India winning the match by 295 runs with plenty of time left. “I don’t see Rohit coming at number five or six. Either Rohit will open with Yashasvi Jaiswal, with KL Rahul coming in at number three, or he will bat no later than number three,” said Harbhajan while talking to PTI here at the inauguration of the World Tennis League.
“Number six for Rohit wouldn’t be in best interest of the team. Your top four in batting order should be the four pillars and someone like Rohit at the top would only add greater fillip.” The second test will begin at Adelaide Oval on Friday.
Harbhajan described the move to play Washington Sundar over R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the series opener as a huge step.
“Washington had showed during the New Zealand series that he is ready to take over the mantle from Ashwin in coming days,” the ‘Turbanator’ said.
Thereafter comes the question of age, to which he replied,”I don’t see 38 as very old. He is not a 58- year-old. But yes, the shoulders do experience fatigue and rob of a little bit of wear and torn after so many years,” stated Harbhajan. Harbhajan also urged the officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to keep aside in their egos and agree to the ‘Hybrid Model’ for the next ICC Champions Trophy, with India playing its matches at Dubai.
“Ask every player, and they will say ready for an Abu Dhabi or Dubai venue. We don’t see too many Indo-Pak games as such, so perhaps, Pakistan should keep their ego aside and agree to the ‘Hybrid Model’.
“There is a security concern for India, and I have been saying this since 2022,” he added.
