ENG vs IND 2021: VVS Laxman Believes Rohit Sharma Has Not Been As Expressive In Test As He Is In White-ball Cricket

One of the best openers in the world in limited-overs format,Rohit Sharma,has now become a regular opener of India in Test cricket. Notably, Rohit Sharma is the first choice opener of India in all three formats of the game. Meanwhile former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman believes that Rohit Sharma has not been as expressive in Tests as he has in ODIs and T20Is.

While chatting with ESPNcricinfo about Rohit Sharma’s approach in foreign conditions at the end of Day 1 of the first Test against England. VVS Laxman asserted:

“This has been the game plan of Rohit Sharma, especially in the overseas conditions. He has not been as expressive as he is in white-ball cricket. Rohit takes his time, respects the good deliveries, and whenever the ball is short, he looks to play the back-foot punch or a cut short, and for anything on the stumps, he uses his wrist or plays with the straight bat towards mid-on. He has got his game-plan set. It will be interesting to see how KL Rahul approaches his innings tomorrow.”

Rohit Sharma has sensational records in Test cricket while batting at home. However, things have not been the same in overseas conditions. At home, he averages almost 80. On the other hand, his average in away and neutral venues are below 35. In the last few innings, Rohit Sharma has recorded scores of 26, 52, 44, 7, 34, and 30 in Overseas conditions. He always gets a good start but has failed to convert a good start in big scores as he does in the limited-overs cricket. However, Rohit has got a very good chance to score big runs at Trent Bridge, Nottingham in the opening encounter against England.

I thought he [ Rohit Sharma ] batted well in the World Test Championship (WTC) final: VVS Laxman

Also, VVS Laxman said that both the openers would be trying to prove a point in overseas conditions. Rahul and Rohit are among the top batsman of the Indian team in all three formats of the game. However there consistency in away conditions has always raised a question mark. Meanwhile, VVS Laxman stated:

“Both the openers would want to prove themselves that they can perform in English conditions. Rohit Sharma is playing his second match in these conditions. I thought he batted well in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, even though he did not convert his good start into a big score. His partner KL Rahul has a good basic technique, and at the same time, he has got a lot of shots at his disposal.”

“But they also realized that seeing off the new ball or the tricky period of play that the openers and number 3 batsmen have to encounter at the end of the day’s play, especially when the opposition team is bowled out cheaply. I think they knew that they had to see through the day and then come back fresh tomorrow and start afresh,” Laxman concluded.