If Rohit wants to open, KL should bat at No. 3; not later than that: Pujara

With Rohit Sharma missing the first Test in Perth due to the birth of his second child, KL Rahul, previously designated as the middle-order batter for the tour, was made to open the innings. The Karnataka batter showed exemplary resilience in both innings and his partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal in the second innings shut the door on the Aussies, with India eventually securing a historic 295-run win.

However, with both Rohit and Shubman Gill returning, Rahul will most likely drop down the order to No.5. India’s hero of the last two series Down Under, Pujara, believes Rahul will be better served at No.3. 

"I think, for some reason if we can carry on with the same batting order, like KL and Yashasvi to open, Rohit could come in at three, and Shubman could come in at five," Pujara said on ESPNcricinfo.

"If Rohit wants to open, KL should bat at No. 3. Nothing later than that. I think he has to bat top of the order, because it suits his game really well. I hope we don't tinker around with that."

Pujara further added that Gill will be better suited to bat at No.5 while adding that such a situation offers Rishabh Pant protection against new ball.

"Ideally, No. 5,” Pujara said on Gill. “Because it allows him to come in at a time, even if we lose two wickets early, he is someone who can negotiate the new ball. But if he walks in after, say, 25 or 30 overs, he can play his shots. He can play his natural game. 

“And in case we lose the first three wickets early, Gill walks in and saves Rishabh Pant for the old ball. [Pant] doesn't have to face the new ball. I wouldn't want him to walk in to bat when the ball is hard and new."

India benched the experienced duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in favour of Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Even Harshit Rana was preferred above Akash Deep - a combination Pujara is too fond of. 

"There is no question about it. This bowling attack has given us success. [Jasprit] Bumrah looked really good. [Mohammed] Siraj was very good. And then it was supported by Harshit. He bowled really well, you have to accept that. He was playing his first game [for India]. Still, he ended up pitching the ball up,” the Saurashtra batter added.

"In Australia, it's very easy to get carried away and sometimes when you look at the pace of the pitch, it offers a bit more extra bounce... But he was still looking to hit the right spot, good length, try and hit the top of off, and he has that ability.

"So I think we should carry on with the same bowling attack. And Nitish also, he had a bit of a bowl. I felt that those four seamers are proper options and along with that, Washington Sundar,” the former Indian No.3 asserted. 

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