Since the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, a lot of discussion is taking place on three topics – the pitch, the dangerous spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, and Virat Kohli.
But former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri feels that despite the talk around Kohli and Ashwin, an India star, who is “much like Sehwag at his best”, will set the tone for India against Australia.
There were three cricketers who played a pivotal role in India’s massive win by an innings and 123 runs in the 1st Test. Two of them are Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin. The other player is the one Shastri has been in praise of – Rohit Sharma.
“His record in India as an opening batsman is stunning,” Shastri told The ICC Review. “He will dictate terms very early on. I mentioned Ashwin, there’ll be a lot of talk of Kohli, there’ll be a lot of talk of Pujara. But I think Rohit at the top, if he can set the tone, that’ll comfort the dressing room big time. But his form can dictate terms in the series, not just because of the runs he’ll get, but the pace at which he gets it.”
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Shastri then compared Rohit to that of India batting legend Sehwag.
“If Rohit stays there, he gets it quickly. He won’t allow any bowler to settle,” said Shastri. “Runs will come much like Viru at his best. When Virender Sehwag was in form, he made the job for the middle order a lot easier by really taking it to the opposition early on. His role will be that.”