NEW DELHI: Regarding their inconsistent play in the current Test series against Australia, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, and Yashasvi Jaiswal are all aboard “the same boat.” However, captain Rohit Sharma believes that all three players shouldn’t be “overburdened” with ideas because that would make things more difficult.
White-ball vice-captain Gill and maverick match-winner Pant have suffered from low scores in the three Tests thus far, with the exception of Jaiswal’s 161 in the second innings of the first Test in Perth.
Gill and Pant have been squandering strong starts, while Jaiswal’s difficulties in the first innings are well known.
“All these boys like Gill, Jaiswal and Pant are all in the same boat. (They know) what they are capable of doing, we shouldn’t complicate those things,” Rohit was categorical in his assessment ahead of Boxing Day Test in Melbourne when asked individually about the troika which will form the core of Indian batting in the next decade.
In the first innings of Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane, the soon-to-be 23-year-old Jaiswal did not score in the double figures, but the captain is aware of his potential.
“Jaiswal is coming here for the first time. He has already shown what he is capable of. He has got so much talent, when you have a guy like him, you don’t want to tamper too much with his mindset.
“Let him be as free as possible and not over-burden him with too many thoughts regarding his batting. He understands his batting more than any one of us and that’s how he has played his cricket,” the skipper stood firmly behind his young colleague.
Jaiswal has spoken with veteran players to resolve a few technical concerns, and Rohit thinks he can attack as well as defend.
“Their (Australia’s) bowlers are the same. They have four seamers in their squad, one off-spinner…We don’t want to tell him too many things about his own batting and we want him to play the way he plays. If he gets going, he can be very dangerous,” he said.
Similar to Gill, the captain has a lot of faith in the Mohali-man’s abilities and doesn’t want to worry about his early dismissal in Brisbane.
“Talking about Gill, he is quality and we all know that. It’s just about backing that quality and making sure we give clear messaging and like Jaiswal, we don’t want to complicate too many things and he understands his batting really, really well,” Rohit said.
“He knows how to score big runs and he has done that before. Just make sure you get 30s and 40s and make that count. Getting in here is the toughest part.”
Additionally, he dismissed rumors that Pant is under increasing pressure to repeat the valiant actions of the 2021 series.
“There is no pressure on Pant. Look, he played three Tests here. He was in good form in India, made runs. We shouldn’t sit here on judgment on basis of two or three Test matches. He knows what he needs to do,” the skipper was clear.
He was brief as he summarized his messages to the three.
“They know what’s expected of them and our job is to tell them to work on small things like game awareness. I don’t think that we need to talk more and complicate their thought process.”
