Sanjay Manjrekar says picking Rohit Sharma is a ‘tempting gamble’

Australia announced their playing XI on the eve of the first Test against India at Adelaide Oval on Thursday. The hosts ignored Mitchell Marsh and went ahead with specialist batsman Peter Handscomb for the game. Victorian players Aaron Finch and Marcus Harris, who will make his international debut, will be opening for the Baggy Greens while Usman Khawaja will bat at No.3. Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has given his views on both the teams.

India, on the other hand, stopped short of picking the final XI and left the job till the morning of the game. India’s 12 men picked for the game included both Hanuma Vihari and Rohit Sharma and it will either of them who will be making the cut in the playing team. While Vihari made his debut in England this year and hit a fifty in the first game, Rohit has made a comeback to the Test team after almost a year as he was discarded from the longer format.

Manjrekar welcomes Handscomb’s inclusion

Manjrekar appreciated Australia’s move of dropping Mitchell Marsh who he called a “neither this nor that” player and picking a specialist batsman in Handscomb instead. Handscomb, also a Victoria player, is in good form as he scored one hundred and two fifties in his last six first-class innings.

He played the last of his 13 Tests against South Africa in that tainted series earlier this year. The move to drop Marsh would also please former Australian cricketer Geoff Lawson who recently said that the all-rounder had got enough chances but he could not make use of them.

On India’s selection of the final XI, Manjrekar said playing Rohit, who averages less than 40 in Tests and has more hundreds in T20Is than in the longer format, is a gamble but a tempting one. He said he would back Rohit to get into the playing XI since it is Adelaide. Adelaide Oval is known for its batting friendly bounce which could suit Rohit’s attacking batting style.

Good move by Australia to drop ‘neither this nor that’ player Mitchell Marsh for a specialist batsman – Peter Handscomb.
For India, playing Rohit is a gamble, but a very tempting one. I would take it because it’s Adelaide.#AUSvIND

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) December 5, 2018

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