Rohit Sharma was dropped from the Test squad for the England series
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly backed Rohit Sharma to bat at No.6 ahead of Hanuma Vihari in the Test series versus Australia, starting December 6.
Ganguly feels that Rohit is in form and his technique perfect for Australian pitches and he should be given a chance to play there.
"If you ask me, I would bat Rohit at No. 6 and go in with three pacers and one spinner. The simple logic is that Rohit is batting at his best and you don't leave out a batsman of his calibre when he is in such good nick. Moreover, Rohit is very strong square of the wicket which is a prerequisite for success on Australian pitches," Ganugly said at the sidelines of a promotional event.
However, he realises the fact that playing six specalised batsmen over five specalised bowlers is difficult because of the absence of Hardik Pandya, who is yet to recover from a back injury.
"With Hardik Pandya out injured, the team management faces a tricky decision -- whether to play six specialist batsmen (apart from Rishabh Pant) and four frontline bowlers, or go in with five specialists in each department. It's a dilemma that most modern-day captains face," Ganguly said.
He went on to add that Kohli doesn't have the resources like he had during his time as a captain and therefore, he has to think about his combination a lot more.
"I generally relied on four bowlers while playing overseas because I could chip in with a few overs or turn to Viru (Virender Sehwag) or Sachin to give the pacers a breather. Unfortunately, Virat doesn't have such options," said the 46-year-old.
India will play four Tests against the Aussies, with the venues being Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney respectively.
India squad for the Test series:
Virat Kohli (C), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Parthiv Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
