Indian captain Rohit Sharma joined the team in Australia after paternity leave. On his return, Rohit chose not to disrupt the opening pair and batted in the middle order. Against the pink ball, Rohit's troubles continued and registered single-digit scores in Adelaide. Ahead of the second Test at the Gabba, Brisbane, the skipper faces the same dilemma again. KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal were not up to the mark in Adelaide but Rohit is low on confidence as well. His foot movement is not ideal and the captain is likely to stay in the middle order for the next Test as well.
On December 10, Team India had a nets session in Adelaide. Rohit looked uncomfortable in the nets whether it was shot selection or his timing. The team will leave for Brisbane on December 11 where he does not have a good record either.
When Rohit batted in middle order at the Gabba
Rohit has scored 83 runs from four innings at the venue. His first appearance in Brisbane in red-ball cricket was in 2014. He batted at no.6 and scored 32 runs from 55 balls before losing his wicket to Shane Watson. In the next innings, he was dismissed for a two-ball duck by Mitchell Johnson. He edged one to the wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.
Rohit's contribution in the inconic Gabba run chase
In 2021, Rohit returned to Brisbane as an opener in Test cricket. He showed promise in the first innings scoring 44 runs from 74 balls before falling to off-spinner Nathan Lyon. In the iconic run chase at the Gabba where Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant guided India home, Rohit was the first to fall. He edged one to Tim Paine off Pat Cummins' bowling. He could score just seven runs from 21 balls.
Rohit's recent form
Since his arrival in Australia for the ongoing series, Rohit has registered single-digit scores. In the pink-ball warm-up game at Manuka Oval, Canberra, he was dismissed for just three runs. In the Adelaide Test, he registered scores of 3 and 6.
Rohit's last half-century came against New Zealand in Bengaluru. In last three Tests, he has scored just 46 runs from six innings. His last century came against England in Dharamsala earlier this year.
