India woke up Friday morning to the distressing visuals of Prithvi Shaw twisting his left ankle near the rope and the sight of the wonderboy walking on crutches, wearing a moon boot. Now, team India have to come up with an overnight solution to their opening woes where an out-of-action Prithvi Shaw was the only constant.
Perfect time, thus, to play this cricket quiz: Who Virat Kohli open with in the first Test?
And your options are;
- a) Easiest Option: Replace Prithvi with Murali Vijay to open with KL Rahul — Two specialist openers.
- b) Feasible Option: Ask Cheteshwar Pujara to open instead and play both Hanuma Vihari and Rohit Sharma in the middle order.
- c) Unlikely option: Open with Parthiv Patel, play with two keepers along with Rishabh Pant.
- d) Daring option: Open with Rohit Sharma, and unleash what could be a defining moment in the series.
Given that it has been 10 years since India has even won a Test match in Australia, (remember that Perth Test match in 2008 and Ishant Sharma?) it is pragmatic to think about the easiest and the feasible options. After all, it is India's best chance to win a Test series itself; something that hasn't happened in 71 years of independent India.
However, this is a perfect time to encourage Virat Kohli to take the dare.
Virat has, in the past, taken several dares. He has got Jasprit Bumrah to play Test cricket — Punted on Kuldeep Yadav in white-ball, dropped vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane in a test match, kept out dependable Cheteshwar Pujara on an away tour, gone with all five fast bowlers, etc.
Virat has won some, lost some. India, off late, remembers the missed opportunities and his mistakes more but he has always dared to think different. Remember Karn Sharma? On his first Test as skipper. In Australia?
Rohit Sharma as an opener has a perfect case study in Virender Sehwag — a middle-order bat who became a white-ball great—and then became a legend in Test cricket. Sehwag's elevation too was a dare, rather a desperate need for Sourav Ganguly to get a grip on the Test match. There was no slot in the middle order then, and he wanted Sehwag to play. And so he did, as an opener.
Rohit is still waiting for that fillip in Test cricket. and to put things in perspective, the Indian vice-captain has an option to go down as Yuvraj Singh — one of the white-ball greats who remained a red-ball mystery. Or be a Sehwag.
Rohit has got a chance to wear the whites again because his horizontal strokeplay suits Aussie conditions. Adelaide is not the most buzzing venue for a fast bowler and thus gives Virat a little more temptation to cushion his dare with Rohit as an opener. It opens a more convenient option to play Hanuma Vihari at No.6. Take his off-spin options as well to firmly decide on the bowling combination. It allows Pujara, Virat and Rahane good cushion in the middle in their original slots and extends India's batting order.
A daring option in Rohit is equally a dare like going in with an out of form KL Rahul and an out of faith Murali Vijay. Batting coach Sanjay Bangar was categorical in his assessment of Rahul that it was frustrating for the management to keep backing Rahul when he innovates his own modes of flimsy dismissals.
Many even doubted Prithvi Shaw on this tour. Some suggested his attacking run-a-ball was a recipe for disaster on pitches with bounce. Others said his backfoot play was perfect for Australia. That debate is now adjourned. At least for the first Test. Maybe two. But a good time to build a case for Rohit Sharma — the Test opener.
C'mon Virat. Take the dare. Be a dabang Down Under!