MELBOURNE: Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, India's next rung of elite batters, have found support from their captain after a string of poor scores. While Jaiswal has fallen away after a fine century in Perth and got out to soft dismissals off Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland, there have been questions raised over Gill's technique following his inability to convert starts.
Rohit Sharma, however, said it would be unwise to tinker with their mindset and technique at this stage of their careers.
"Gill, Jaiswal, they're both in the same boat. You don't want to be telling Jaiswal too many things about his batting. He has come here for the first time and already shown what he's capable of. You don't want to tamper too much with his mindset. Let him be as free as possible and not overburdened with too many thoughts regarding his batting. He understands his batting more than any of us. It's about trying to figure out certain areas of his game." Rohit said, adding, "Every venue here has different challenges. It's about adapting. The bowlers are the same. They've got four seamers and one offspinner. It's about understanding what they usually do and what their plans are against certain batters."
Gill, meanwhile, has struggled overseas. Since the 91 against Australia in Brisbane in 2021, he has not crossed 40 in 16 innings in Tests played in New Zealand, England, Australia, West Indies and South Africa.
"Both innings in Adelaide, I thought Gill looked pretty good. He just didn't convert that start into a big score. I'm not going to look too much into Brisbane, he got out early," Rohit said. "These tours can be challenging. It's not that easy to put on those big runs every time you step out. Gill has quality. It's just about backing that quality. Like Jaiswal, we don't want to complicate too many things with him."
Rohit, who has hit a horror patch of form himself, seems fit to play after injuring his knee during training earlier. On Tuesday, he pleased crowds at the open nets but seemed displeased when asked if he would continue to bat in the middle order. "Let's not worry about that. Who bats where is something we need to figure out among ourselves. It's not a thing I should be discussing at every press conference, where I'm batting."
