Amidst speculative reports suggesting Rohit Sharma might opt out of the upcoming Test series in England due to a string of poor performances in red-ball cricket of late, former Australia captain Michael Clarke has advised him to change his position in the batting line-up to regain his touch.
Throwing his weight behind the 37-year-old Team India Test skipper, Clarke opined that Rohit should continue to lead the side in the away series, scheduled for June 2025.
Instead of opening the innings, Rohit could return to form by playing in the middle-order, the 2015 World Cup-winning captain suggested during the show 'Backstage with Boria Season 6'.
"I think Rohit would be the perfect No. 5 in Test cricket. He plays the short ball well. If you play in Australia or South Africa where there is extra pace and bounce, he plays the short ball well and he takes the spinners on. So, I just think he would be the ideal No. 5, but I know he loves opening the batting and I know he has had success opening the batting," Clarke said.
After India suffered back-to-back Test series defeats against New Zealand and Australia, three were speculations regarding Rohit's spot in India’s red-ball squad for the tour of England.
"He was not batting in his ideal position. It is the way it goes. Conditions were tough in Australia for batting. The ball was seaming. Swing is one thing. When it is seaming, it is extremely hard. And then again, I think he put the team first in that last Test match. He was out of form."
"There were a number of out-of-form players. And I know as captain, you do not want to have too many players in your team who are going through a lean patch. You need some guys batting well and confident. I think Rohit should go to England for India's sake. I think he should be captain. He will perform," Clarke said.
Despite Rohit's recent struggles, Clarke felt he has a lot of cricket left in him across formats.
"I still think he has got a lot of runs to make in all three formats. I do believe he is one of the best white-ball players to have played the game. Back in the day when he was younger, he was underrated as well. He is tactically brilliant and I think India is a better team with him in it, in all three formats," Clarke noted.
While Rohit has retired from T20Is, Clarke sees him as a crucial player in ODIs and Tests.
"I think he will go to England, score runs, and lead from the front. And I honestly think if (Jasprit) Bumrah and (Mohammed) Shami are fit, India can win that series in England," he added.
Clarke also spoke about Virat Kohli and said that being a great player, he always find a way to come out of bad patches.
"The best players in the world are the best players in the world for a reason. It is the longevity. It is through the highs, through the lows. You pick yourself up when you are not performing. You go and do the work to get yourself back in form and you go and make runs for your team and help them win. Rohit will do that. He has done it his entire career. Virat Kohli is the same. Kohli has had form slumps, but as he is such a great player, our expectations are always so high," he said.
"We think he can walk out to bat and make 100 every single day. That is not the game. It is too hard mentally and physically to do that day in, day out," he added.
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