IND vs SA: No Reason Why Rohit Can't Succeed As Test Opener, Says Batting Coach Vikram Rathore

Rohit Sharma’s promotion as an opener in Tests has been appreciated by a plethora of cricket pundits. While many see this as strengthening of Indian top-order, newly-appointed batting coach Vikram Rathore stated that there is no reason why the batsman cannot succeed in Test cricket. “I think he is too good a player to not be playing in any team. Everybody in the side echoes this opinion. He is a wonderful opening batsman in the limited-overs format, so there is no reason why he cannot be successful in Test matches. If he gets his gameplan right, he can be a great asset to the team,” Rathore told reporters. The batting coach also said that the team is lucky to have so many all-rounders in the squad. He even praised Manish Pandey and Shreyas Iyer, however, he asked the duo to keep working on their consistency. “Everyone needs to take their opportunities. Everyone has played a good number of matches. The entire team is backing them and I am sure we continue to back them up, they will produce good results,” Rathore said. Rishabh Pant who has been often criticised for playing reckless shots, got the backing of the new batting coach but Rathore said that the players in the side need to understand the difference between fearless cricket and careless cricket. “All young cricketers need to understand the difference between fearless cricket and careless cricket. The team wants everyone to play without fear. We want Rishabh to play all his shots as it makes him special. But you do not want any batsman to be careless and reckless,” Rathore said.