Rohit Sharma has to maintain his individuality to succeed in Test cricket, says Sanjay Bangar
Getty
Sanjay Bangar has stated that Rohit Sharma has the talent to succeed in the red-ball cricket but he shouldnât compromise with his individuality for the sake of it. The former Indian batting coach has also admitted that there is no place in the settled middle order in the Indian Test team.
Rohitâs Test career is an existential tragedy in miniature as he has never ever got the extended run that he richly deserved - majorly because of perception. Six years into his Test career, Rohit doesnât even know his batting position and never has never once knew if he was a starter in the playing XI. However, with KL Rahulâs continuous failure to prove his credentials, the Mumbaikar has been tasked with the responsibility of opening for India in Tests, alongside Mayank Agarwal.
Does he have it in him to be successful at the toughest position in Test cricket? Sanjay Bangar, who has seen the ebbs and flows of Rohitâs career very closely, clearly thinks so but added that the Mumbaikar shouldnât compromise with his individuality for the sake of it as it is his approach that has reaped success in Test cricket.
"If he succeeds, his style of play will be extremely helpful to the team. It might result in being able to successfully chase down targets that we haven't achieved in the past, like in Cape Town and Edgbaston," Bangar told ESPNCricinfo.Â
"The key to his success will be if he maintains his individual style of play. He has to maintain his individuality. At the moment, there is no place in the settled middle order in the Test team. Opening will be a new challenge for him since he has rarely done it in the longer formats. But the advantage is that he will get to bat against a hard ball with plenty of gaps in the field. He will also not have to wait for his turn to bat, which will save his mental energy."
India didnât play any practice matches in their tour of South Africa in 2018 and had very little time to adjust themselves to the conditions in their bid to win their first series in the African nation. However, they put up an impressive performance and were very close to winning the first Test in Cape Town and although they ended the series with a 1-2 loss to their name, it was a memorable outing and the start of a new era in Indian Test cricket.
âI believe that South African conditions are the most challenging in the international circuit, especially Cape Town and Johannesburg. We faced those conditions on our tour of 2018, and we also had very little time to adjust there - precisely six days before the first Test started. Those Test matches were the toughest one could encounter. The team is very proud of one of the most courageous displays by our batting group in Johannesburg in a memorable victory. And then to go on and dominate the ODI series and win it 5-1 was equally praiseworthy.â
