India team director Ravi Shastri believes Rohit Sharma needs to be persisted with for the crucial No3 position as the stylish batsman has the ability to pace the innings well.
It means the original No3 Cheteshwar Pujara will lose out as new captain Virat Kohli’s preference for five bowlers means only one of the two top order batsmen can make the cut.
Shastri, however, did not rule out Pujara’s chances completely saying he will get a look-in if they field four bowlers. But for the first Test against Sri Lanka beginning in Galle on Wednesday, Sharma appears to be the preferred choice.
“Rohit is a class player,” Shastri said Monday. “It’s just a case of him smelling the coffee, spending some time in the middle and getting a start, and then we know what he can do. It could be a good position for him because he has that ability to counter attack and yet at the same time he will have to be tight (in defence).
“If Pujara is in the best five batsmen of the team he will play, if not he doesn’t. I am sure he will make a comeback at some point, especially if we are playing only four bowlers.”
The former Indian captain stressed the current bunch has gained sufficient experience to start winning Test matches.
“You don’t come to a cricket ground to draw a cricket match so you play a brand of cricket where you look to take the game forward and you look to take 20 wickets, that is paramount. You have got to think how you can take 20 wickets to take the game forward and win the game,” Shastri
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“It is extremely important to start winning games. They have had the learning curve in South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia. They have played a lot of cricket overseas and that experience factor will certainly come into play when they get back to conditions they are familiar with.”
Shastri feels Kohli’s five-bowler theory will help in gaining a winning edge. He also wants the bowlers to step up with their batting.
“The fact that you have an additional bowler might just help you close matches that you couldn’t earlier. It’s not about getting big runs but about taking 20 wickets. Look at England in the Ashes. It’s their depth in bowling that has made all the difference,” he added.
“Each one of those bowlers will also have to put a price tag on their wickets. No wicket is free these days and you have to make the bowlers earn those wickets.”
