Page 12 - Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma must open if he has to throw the first punch: Ravi Shastri

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who knows a thing or two about winning Test rubbers in Australia, on Thursday asked India skipper Rohit Sharma to return to the opening slot "if he has to throw the first punch" on an opponent brimming with confidence. Shastri was serving as team director when India won their maiden Test series in Australia in 2017-18 and was the head coach when the side rallied brilliantly to stun the hosts in the last tour in 2020-21. The move to slot Rohit at number six did not yield the desired results for India and they were hammered by 10 wickets in the second Test at Adelaide, leaving the five-match clash locked at 1-1 and with everything to play for in what Shastri believes could decide the fate of the series. "That's where he's (Rohit) been at his best over the last eight or nine years," Shastri was quoted as saying by 'The Age'. "It's not that he's going to set the world on fire he could but that's the place that's best for him...If he has to do ...

IND vs AUS: Rohit urges team to support Bumrah, defends Rana and Siraj

India lost the second Test in Adelaide after just seven sessions of gameplay as batters failed to perform once again

IND vs AUS: Rohit Sharma says doors are always open for Shami's return

With Md Shami reportedly set to join the Indian squad in Australia, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said in Adelaide that the pacer is welcome anytime he wishes

IND vs AUS: Ready to play the floater role for team, says KL Rahul

Rahul made his return to the Test squad by adding 104 runs in the two innings of the first Test of the ongoing Test series against Australia in Perth

IND vs AUS: Rohit or Rahul? Who will open for India in the Adelaide Test

KL Rahul sent shockwaves through the Indian team management when he added 201 for the first wicket in the second innings of the Perth Test with Yashasvi Jaiswal

IND vs AUS: Rohit Sharma will either open or bat at No. 3 - Harbhajan

Captain Rohit Sharma will either open or bat at number three in the Adelaide Test against Australia, reckoned former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Monday while ruling out the possibility of a senior star coming in at number five or six. KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal added a record 201 runs for the opening stand during the second innings of the Perth Test, which the visitors won by 295 runs with plenty of time left in the match. "I don't see Rohit coming in at number five or six. Either Rohit will open with Yashasvi Jaiswal, with KL Rahul coming in at number three, or he will bat no later than number three," Harbhajan told PTI on the sidelines of the inauguration of the World Tennis League here. "Number six for Rohit wouldn't be in best interest of the team. Your top four in batting order should be the four pillars and someone like Rohit at the top would only add greater fillip." The second Test, a day/night affair to be played with the pink ball, will begin at Adelaide Oval

India vs PM XI: Five takeaways for India from two-day tour game at Canberra

India might have answered questions regarding their opening pair for the second Test at Canberra on Sunday

IND vs AUS: Need better footwork while playing with pink ball, says Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara wants Shubman Gill to play at number five, allowing KL Rahul to bat at number three spot

IND vs AUS: India to play tour game vs PM XI without head coach Gambhir

The head coach of India, Gautam Gambhir will fly back home on Tuesday, November 26, due to personal reasons, as per reports.

IND vs AUS: Rohit set to play, Rahul hopeful for Adelaide Test return

KL Rahul is aware that he will not be opening for India in the second Test against Australia as captain Rohit Sharma will "obviously walk in" but the elegant batter is hopeful he will feature in the playing XI in Adelaide next week. Rohit had missed the opener of the five-match series, which India won by 295 runs here on Monday. However, the skipper has already joined the tourists and will return to open the innings in the day/night second Test, starting from December 6. In Rohit's absence, Rahul, who bats in the middle-order, was promoted to the top where he recorded scores of 26 and 77. "He'll obviously walk in," Rahul told Seven Cricket when asked about his spot in the batting order when Rohit returns. "I mean, look, it's, it's, we'll have to wait and see. I'm sure the captain and the coach have it sorted in their heads," Rahul said ahead of play on the fourth day at Optus Stadium. "And we're just focused on today at the moment, and trying to get the seven wickets that are left

IND vs AUS: Watch Rohit bats in nets for the pink-ball Test in Adelaide

Rohit is expected to be part of India's squad for the tour game against Prime Minister's XI at Canberra

IND vs AUS: Rohit Sharma set to join Indian squad midway through Perth Test

Rohit Sharma returns to India's squad after missing the first Test due to family reasons

Rohit blessed with baby boy; likely to make it in time for Perth Test

India captain Rohit Sharma has been blessed with a baby boy and there is a possibility that he makes it to the Perth Test against Australia starting November 22. His wife Ritika Sajdeh gave birth to a baby boy at a local hospital here Friday night. Rohit didn't travel to Australia with the rest of the Indian squad as Ritika was expecting their second child. The couple have a daughter Samaira, born in 2018. With less than a week left for the first Test, it is not clear if Rohit, after just a couple of practice sessions, will play the match even if he decides to travel to Australia at the earliest, but nothing can be ruled out as of now. There were doubts about Rohit's participation in the first Test although head coach Gautam Gambhir was quite hopeful that the captain might just be available. The Indian team currently needs its skipper and opening batter as the top order is looking way too brittle. While Rohit hasn't exactly been in the best of form but he would still any day be b

Jasprit Bumrah should lead if Rohit misses 1st Test vs AUS: Gavaskar

The legendary Sunil Gavaskar on Monday said that if India captain Rohit Sharma is not playing in the first Test against Australia in the upcoming marquee series, then Jasprit Bumrah should lead the side for the entire tour Down Under. He said Rohit, whenever he comes in, should participate in the series only as a player. The Australia tour for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy begins on November 22 in Perth, and Rohit is likely to miss the first match as his wife is expecting their second child. He is expected to join the team from the second game of the series. Rohit is, however, not sure about the schedule yet. In the absence of Rohit, Bumrah is likely to captain the team in Perth. "It is important for the captain to play the first Test match. It's different if he is injured, but if he is not available, then the deputy leader will be under a lot of pressure," Gavaskar said on Sports Tak. "I have been reading that Rohit Sharma might not play the first two Tests of the Australia series.

IND vs NZ: It's a low point in my career - Rohit Sharma after series defeat

Reflecting on the series, he noted that in the first two Tests, India failed to put up enough first-innings runs. "In this game, we got a 28-run lead, and the target was achievable."

Is Rohit Sharma the worst Test captain Indian cricket has ever had?

The last time India lost 3 consecutive Tests in a series was back in 1976-77, when they were defeated by England.

Players who are representing national team should get preference: Rohit

Indian captain Rohit Sharma on Thursday backed the retention of national team players in the Mumbai Indians squad for IPL 2025 while franchise skipper Hardik Pandya summed it up as "five fingers but one fist". Mumbai Indians chose to retain five Indian players as the IPL franchises submitted their list of retentions to end weeks of speculations around who were going to stay with their teams and who would be entering the auction pool. "The players who are representing the national team at the highest level should get the preference. It's a very tough one when you come into a fresh auction and you start retaining players," former MI skipper Rohit said after being retained by the five-time winners. After a disastrous last season when they finished at the bottom of the 10-team league, Rohit said MI will look to put their best foot forward in the next edition. "With Mumbai, we have always tried maintaining a core group of players. Moving forward, I just feel that we can have a good auct

Bumrah to Hardik: MI's probable retained players | IPL 2025 auction

Unlike other teams focusing on whom to retain, Mumbai are expected to concentrate more on whom to release. Check MI's probable list of retained players here

IND vs NZ 1st Test: 3 to 4 hours of bad cricket cost us, says Rohit Sharma

Rohit said he knew the wicket would be sticky and tough to bat on but never thought they would be bundled out for less than 50

IND vs NZ: Rohit took ownership of decision as a leader - VVS Laxman

Former India cricketer and NCA head VVS Laxman on Friday praised Rohit Sharma for taking ownership of the wrong call at the toss in the first Test against New Zealand, saying that he does a "phenomenal job" in leading by example. Rohit's decision to bat first in the opening Test backfired horribly as India were shot out for a mere 46 inside 32 overs, recording their third lowest total in 593 Tests and lowest-ever in 293 matches on home soil. The Indian captain fronted the media after end of play on Thursday and acknowledged that he erred in reading the M Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch, while citing that not all calls taken by leadership can always be right. "For leaders, it's humanly impossible not to make mistakes. We won the toss and we elected to bat first and it was counterproductive (because) we were bowled out for 46," Laxman told a gathering at the Security Now 2024 conference by Seclore here. "Who went to the press conference? It was Rohit Sharma. He accepted that 'yes, I misrea