As the call to include talented Rohit Sharma in the XI for the Adelaide Test against Australia gets louder, two former chief selectors have pitched in for the Mumbai batsman saying, this is the ideal time for Rohit to make Test debut.


Dilip Vengsarkar

In former chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar's opinion, the Adelaide strip will help the batsmen a bit, compared to wickets in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth, and so it would help the debutant. "The Adelaide wicket will assist the batsmen and so I think Rohit should be in the XI. I cannot understand the logic of keeping Rohit out of the XI," Vengsarkar told MiD DAY yesterday.


Kiran More

"We have lost three Tests and if you don't try a youngster like Rohit, when will you? It's true that he (Sharma) hasn't played competitive cricket for a month or so, but that shouldn't be held against him," the former India captain felt.

Ojha too...
Vengsarkar also said there is a need to draft in an extra spinner to the playing XI. "We should include Pragyan Ojha in place of a seamer, but I cannot comment on who to be dropped as the team management is the best judge," he added.

Another former chairman of selectors, Kiran More echoed Vengsarkar's views with regards to Sharma's inclusion. "Rohit should play now. Even if he scores a duck, he should continue playing. We are in a transition process and drafting in a talented batsman like Rohit should be seen as an investment. After all, the Rohits and Virats (Kohli) are the future of Indian cricket," More told MiD DAY.

Asked who he would like Rohit to replace, More also didn't want to name anybody. "I cannot pinpoint as I am not sure what combination they would like to play. From a selector's viewpoint, I shouldn't be singling out anybody. It's the team think-tank's call," he said.