India’s recent loss to New Zealand in the World Test Championship (WTC) has raised concerns about the team’s batting performance. Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria believes that India captain Rohit Sharma should consider changing his batting position to address the team’s struggles.
Kaneria, in an exclusive interview with TimesofIndia.com, expressed his concern over the form of India’s top order, particularly Rohit and Virat Kohli. He suggested that Rohit should move down to the middle order, possibly at number three, to improve his performance.
“Rohit has been struggling with the track in India. In the recent series, Southee got him out twice, and the ball will move more over there in Australia, so you have to see how you go with that,” said Kaneria.
Kaneria believes that the Indian top order should consist of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill as openers, followed by Rohit at number three and Kohli at number four. He emphasized that the success of the team depends on the performance of the top order.
“Indian batters need to click; that’s the only concern. If the bowlers take wickets, then the batters need to click. A Test is won by bowlers, so Indian batting needs to click as their top order, where Rohit and Kohli are struggling with runs,” explained Kaneria.
Kaneria also pointed out that the rise of T20 cricket has negatively impacted Indian batters’ ability to face spin bowling. He believes that the team needs to address this issue to improve their performance in Test cricket.
India’s loss to New Zealand has dropped them to second place in the WTC standings. To secure a spot in the next WTC final, India will need to win at least four matches in their upcoming five-match Test series against Australia.
