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India vs South Africa: Rohit Sharma can help team chase down unachievable targets says Sanjay Bangar
With KL Rahul axed from the Test side due to poor form, Rohit Sharma will get a chance to open the innings.
Rohit Sharma has been waiting to cement his place in the Indian Test side and the series against touring South Africans presents him with an opportunity to cement his place. With KL Rahul axed from the Test side, the Hitman will get a chance to open the innings and if he is able to grab the opportunity with both hands then there is no stopping the stylish batsman.
Rahul, who had been opening the innings for India in the last two years, has been dropped owing to his poor form. In the two-Test series against the West Indies, he managed scores of 44, 38, 13 and 6 and didn't seem to be in any sort of form. Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar believes that Team India will be able to successfully chase down targets they haven't achieved in the past if Rohit Sharma succeeds at the top of the order in Test cricket.
"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," Bangar told ESPNcricinfo in an interview.
"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," he added. Rohit has played 27 Tests so far, in which he has scored 1585 runs at an average of 39.6. The swashbuckling opener, who has three double-hundreds to his name in ODIs, has been able to hit just three centuries in red-ball cricket.
However, the upcoming series against the Proteas provides him with the opportunity to score big and permanently cement his place in Test cricket as well. And in order to be successful for that, Bangar believes Rohit needs to maintain his unique playing style. "The key to his success will be if he maintains his individual style of play. He has to maintain his individuality," Bangar said.
The first Test against South Africa will be played in Visakhapatnam from October 2 before the teams travel to Pune for the second Test from October 10. The final match of the series will be played in Ranchi from October 19.
