Former Indian national cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri wants captain Rohit Sharma to reclaim his premiership from KL Rahul ahead of the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

Ravi Shastri believes that Rohit Sharma’s poor form has directly impacted his captaincy, and that returning to the top order would allow him to be more aggressive with the bat.

Also read: India asked to activate ‘plan B’ as Rohit Sharma faces sacking pressure after Adelaide horror show

Rohit Sharma’s horror show in Test cricket continued in Adelaide Test

The Indian national cricket team captain returned to the playing XI in Adelaide after missing the Perth Test due to the birth of his second child.

Rohit did not open the innings and allowed KL Rahul to continue in the top order along with Yashasvi Jaiswal after the duo put up a strong performance in the second innings of the first match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 Test series.

Rohit’s move to the middle order did not prove fruitful as he failed miserably in both the innings. He seemed to be in all sorts of trouble while taking on the Australian pacers and posted scores of 3 and 6 in two innings.

Rohit Sharma’s failure with the bat meant that the Indian team was bowled out on low scores in both innings and they lost the match by 10 wickets.

I just thought he was too subdued, just seeing his body language – Ravi Shastri

Speaking to broadcasters after the Adelaide Test, Ravi Shastri stated that Rohit had moderated his body language in the match and needed to get more involved as captain.

Shastri added that there is a need for Rohit to return to the top and send KL Rahul back to the middle order. He said:

“That’s the reason I want him on top. That’s where he can be aggressive and expressive. I just thought he was too subdued, just from seeing his body language. The fact that he didn’t run, I don’t think there was enough in the field there. I just wanted to see him more involved and a little more animated.

“You still have to believe that you can bounce back in this series. You have seen with these two teams that the backlash is almost immediate. It has happened in the last 10 years. You lose one, you win the next, but you have to have faith,” Shastri said.

“It would mean Rahul would go back to the middle order. But that’s what I was going to do if Rohit Sharma had started from the first Test,” he added.

I like Pat Cummins’ choice of words in Perth – Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri further advised Rohit Sharma to learn from Australia captain Pat Cummins how to bounce back from the defeat and ensure that the Indian team is at its best in the Brisbane Test match. He stated:

“I like Pat Cummins’ choice of words in Perth. He said we weren’t good enough, but we weren’t as bad as the scoreboard showed. The reason I say good choice of words is because it wasn’t about what”