New Delhi, India

India lost the second Test, in Adelaide, to Australia by ten wickets as the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) is now levelled at 1-1. While India looked clueless in the pink-ball contest, despite a big win in the series opener in Perth, captain Rohit Sharma made heads turn with his decision-making. He was blamed for being defensive as it allowed Australia to take a sizeable 157-run lead, after India bundled out for 180, whereas his decision to bat at No. 6 surprised many. The opener demoted himself down the order to not disturb the opening pair of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who flourished in Perth.

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However, the move didn't pay dividends as Rohit and the opening pair failed. Many former cricketers believe Hitman should go back to opening the innings, which he has been doing since late 2019, however, veteran Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara explained why Rohit batting down the order is ideal.

In the build-up to the third Test, in Brisbane, Pujara told ESPNCricinfo, "He has not scored a lot of runs against New Zealand and did not start well in Australia, so there is a bit of pressure on him to perform. But someone like him who knows his game will have to be more positive and work a bit more on his footwork. If he has a slightly bigger stride, it will help him. The stump line has been troubling him a lot. He has been getting out bowled and LBW, which is a bit of a concern for him. That's the line he will have to work on in the nets because in the balls outside off stump, he is looking more comfortable. I think he should continue to bat at No. 6."

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'I think he should continue to bat at No.6. We are looking at India's future'

Pujara added, "We are looking at India's future, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal. They batted really well in the 1st Test match, Shubman also is likely to bat at No.3. We should think about the long term and that's why I think that Rohit should continue to bat at No. 6."

Rahul and Jaiswal recorded the highest opening stand for India in Tests in Australia (201) during the Perth Test. Hence, they are likely to continue as openers for the remainder of the series. However, it will be interesting to see if Rohit regains form at No. 6, where he batted for a long time before cementing his spot as an opener since Sep 2019.