India vs South Africa: Rohit Sharma as Test opener a step back for India

In an ideal cricket universe, Rohit Sharma, who made his India debut as a 20-year-old with the gift of timing, was a Test match-up made in heaven. A delight to watch, and with plenty of time to play shots, experts were unanimous that he was a rare find. But unlike Virender Sehwag, some years his senior, Sharma hasn’t been able to shake off the shackles of being a limited-overs specialist.

Sehwag put technique in perspective, showed what determination and smart cricket can achieve. His biggest allies were a calm mind and aggression, and batting in fifth gear got him two triple centuries in Test cricket. He rode on his pace while scoring them. Ask Rahul Dravid, whose century in the 2008 Chennai Test against South Africa seemed all toil while Sehwag’s second triple, the Indian record of 319, at the other end was a breeze in sweltering conditions.

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Sharma, after stuttering many times, is now among the all-time greats in ODIs. He hasn’t looked back since being promoted to open at the start of the successful 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. No frantic hitting, but no holding back either. His ability to kick on after getting set has brought him and India great success in ODIs and T20s.

But Sharma’s Test career has sputtered. The debut did not happen until late 2013, six years after he had pulled on India’s blue shirt. Questions were raised about his temperament and technique. He started with a flourish against West Indies, two back-to-back centuries in Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement series, but 27 Tests in six years is a story of Sharma not cashing in on the opportunities in the middle-order.

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To be fair to Sharma, he has got to play only nine Tests at home. Scoring three centuries and five fifties during those games is not poor returns at all. But he could have cemented a regular slot by converting some of those starts, including three fifties in the 2016 home series against New Zealand.

Sharma is now 32, and India are taking a backward step by slotting him as opener. One can’t expect him to turn into a modern Sehwag overnight. For one, unlike Sehwag’s fluency on the off-side, Sharma’s strength lies on the leg side. He will face the new ball against South Africa’s pacemen, who are unlikely to feed his stronger suit. His dismissal for nought in the warm-up game against the Proteas is an indication.

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Promoting a young player would make sense. But demanding focus and self-denial in shot-making from Sharma at this point in his career will be asking too much. VVS Laxman has cautioned the batsman not to change his technique to fit his new Test role.

And the move seems more a reward for Sharma’s brilliant one-day run, and making amends for not persisting with him in Tests. But the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri team prides itself in playing off the front foot, taking calls that will constantly keep the team moving forward to achieve new goals.

For such a team management, it would make sense to blood a young Shubman Gill, who is in great form and it will be a great choice to get a debut in home conditions, instead. Gill would be a long-term option while Sharma failing in the experiment could lead to him losing his limited-overs panache as well.