Rohit Sharma would be a 'gamble' for Australia tour, says Ian Chappell
According to Ian Chappell, selecting Rohit in the Test squad would be a gamble despite his sensational ability to deal with the odd bounce.
Mumbai: India suffered their second consecutive Test series defeat last week, with England thrashing Virat Kohli’s men by 4-1 despite a hard-fought series. Their batting order deficiencies were once again exposed, that made the visitors ponder about a lot of questions.
With the Australia tour scheduled towards the end of the year, the MSK Prasad-led selection committee will have to make some strong selection calls to ensure they pick the right names.
However, according to Ian Chappell, selecting Rohit Sharma in the Test squad would be a gamble despite his sensational ability to deal with the odd bounce on Australian pitches.
"A confident and in-form Rohit Sharma would be an ideal player to bolster the batting in Australia. His authoritative horizontal bat shots are perfectly designed to cope with the testing extra bounce, but sadly Rohit has never really come to grips with batting in Test cricket. Selecting him for the tour would be a gamble,” he wrote in his column for ESPNCricinfo.
Opening in shorter formats proved to be a boon for Rohit, who said that he will not mind taking a shot at it in Test matches too, if the team management ever considers that as an option in near future.
"Look, I have never been offered (to open the innings in Tests) yet but I am open to anything as in whatever the team management wants. I never thought I will be an opener in ODIs when I started playing or when I was playing for India. But it happened along the way, so I (want to) keep my options open. No option is shut for me, so if the opportunity comes, I will take it," he stated.
While his technique in testing conditions outside the Indian sub-continent has time and again come under scanner, the stylish batsman is still hopeful of a Test recall.
"I want to be part of the (Test) team, but it is not in my hands. I have to wait for the opportunity, whenever it comes, I have to be ready for it. To be ready, I am doing everything, training, doing as much as possible to give myself the best chance when the opportunity comes there," he added.