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Former Australia captain Matthew Hayden shared a brotherly advice to Indian team captain Rohit Sharma amid the ongoing Gabba Test. Hayden suggested that Sharma needs to bat with more energy and aggression as he takes the crease on the fourth day of the Brisbane Test. Notably, the visitors faced top-order collapse on Day 3 and posted 51/4 in 17 overs by the end of the day’s play. Batting first, Australia posted a mammoth total of 445 runs in the first innings. In return, India’s batting lineup crumbled to Australia’s pace-attack.
All Indian batting stars including Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant were dismissed cheaply, leaving the team in a worrying situation. Amid India’s poor condition at the Gabba, Matthew Hayden suggested the Indian skipper to bat more aggressively. He opined that it is something that has been missing in the current edition of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. It is to be noted that after missing the first Test, Sharma joined the side in the Adelaide Test and could score only nine runs in the game.
He needs to have a great intent and energy about him: Matthew Hayden on Rohit Sharma
The cricketer-turned-commentator spoke to Star Sports and said, "When I think of Rohit Sharma, I think of a free-scoring batsman. You look at those double hundreds in one day cricket, his magnificence in the short formats..." He added, "For purely Rohit Sharma's sake, he needs to have a great intent and energy about him. When I think back to Adelaide's first game here in a long time, he was just a little sluggish. I'd be saying to him as his partner, 'I don't really want to see you defend the ball here'.”
He added, “I want him to be really reactive to the ball, really up for the fight, because his natural game will flow. Energy and intent will take that front foot a lot further towards the ball. Rohit, what I want you to do, my brother, is play with great energy and intent, and I'd have those as two maybe trigger words for him to think about in his preparation.”
