Sanjay Manjrekar, the former Indian cricketer, couldn't help but think back to one of the more notorious moments in Indian cricket after Rohit Sharma had a rough return as an opener in the 4th Test against Australia at the MCG. Rohit, who captains the Indian team, didn’t last long at the crease. What really caught everyone’s attention was how he got out—he attempted a half-hearted pull shot that he completely misjudged, handing Cummins an easy wicket.

This early dismissal disrupted the rhythm of Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, who had previously set a record double-century partnership in the series opener at Perth. While the duo struggled to replicate that success in Adelaide or Brisbane, their partnership at the top of the order had been a refreshing mix of youth and experience. This made Manjrekar think back to 2012, the year of Sachin Tendulkar's final Test tour in Australia.

Tendulkar had already hit 99 international centuries, but getting that elusive 100th was turning out to be a real struggle. He couldn't manage it during the four Tests against England, and even though he notched up a couple of fifties in Melbourne and Sydney, that big score just wouldn't come. Manjrekar noted that this situation was quite similar to what Rohit is facing now.

"When Sachin Tendulkar was here for his last Test series in Australia and couldn't grab that century, he decided to stick around and play in the tri-series. The 50-over tournament featured Sri Lanka as the third team. Gambhir and Sehwag were on fire as openers, but they switched things up to let Tendulkar take that spot. In fact, one of them was rested for every match just to make room for Tendulkar to open for India," Manjrekar mentioned while commenting on Day 2 of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Hanuma Vihari's recommendation

He brought up another intriguing idea that Hanuma Vihari, the standout player from the drawn SCG Test in the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, also mentioned. Rohit had a tough time batting at No. 6 for India, with scores of 3, 6, and 10. Given Rahul's solid performance, it wouldn't have made much sense to push Rohit back into the middle order. So, with Shubman Gill out, this setup seemed perfect. However, Manjrekar pointed out there was another option that could have worked well for all three players—Rohit, Rahul, and Jaiswal.

"Hanuma Vihari suggested a plan that could have satisfied everyone. You have Rohit Sharma, and if you want him to open, that's cool. His idea was to have Yashasvi Jaiswal bat at No. 3 since he's had issues with the new ball, especially facing those first few deliveries from Mitchell Starc. This way, you keep him away from that risk, and KL Rahul can keep opening the innings. I think that would have been a better compromise, but that's all in the past now," he explained.

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