Indian management should stick by players and give them long run, states Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain reckons India shouldn't chop and change too much
|Getty
Nasser Hussain has stated that when India tour Australia later this year, the management must select, stick by the players and give them a long run even if they fail. Hussain also stated that for Rohit Sharma to succeed in Australia, all he has to do is see out the first 30 minutes of games.
In the past ten months, India have tried four openers at the top of the order in Tests, with Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Prithvi Shaw and KL Rahul all playing their part at the top. While an untimely injury to Rohit Sharma right before the New Zealand Tests meant that it was Shaw and Agarwal who were summoned to open, there might be tough times ahead for the management to pick the right people up top, especially with all the aforementioned players set to be fit and available for the Australia tour that is scheduled to start in December.
Speaking of India's quirky team selection, which has seen skipper Virat Kohli often chop and change the line-up, former English skipper Nasser Hussain opined that the management should focus on picking a couple of players and giving them a long run in the side, instead of looking to often alter and tinker with the XI.
"I think India need to select well because they have so many great batsmen so it's very easy that when Rohit doesn't do anything for two games, Prithvi Shaw will get in, and when he doesn't do well, someone else will get in..," Hussain said in a chat show on Sony Ten's Pit Stop.
"Select, stick by them and give them a long run. They are very fine players and eventually if you don't get runs in Australia then you've got a problem because like I say it is a good place to bat you will find out who your Test match players are in Australia."
Despite having played 32 Tests, Rohit Sharma’s best Test form has come only in familiar conditions at home, with him boasting a godlike average of 88.33, as away from home, he still averages a paltry 26.32, with him particularly struggling in SENA countries.
Opening the batting in SENA conditions might prove to be a completely different challenge altogether for the 33-year-old, but according to Hussain, all Rohit needs to do succeed is survive the first 30 minutes of matches. The former English skipper advised the opener to adhere strictly to leave the ball to take the slip cordon out of the play during the initial stages of matches.
"And that's the only thing Rohit has to do when he goes away from home and when he is moving around. He has to just spend half an hour and say to the bowler you can have this half hour. I'm going to leave you, I'm going to take the slip cordon out of play."
