Sehwag, Gambhir pair was dismantled to allow Tendulkar to open: Sanjay Manjrekar

India captain, Rohit Sharma had hinted at going back to his usual opener slot ahead of the fourth Test against Australia in Melbourne. The same was evident as he walked in to bat on Day 2. This meant that the Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul pair was broken and the latter was fielded as the number three batter.

The move did not yield good results as Rohit continued his Test slump and was dismissed for just three runs. It is worth noting, that the right-handed batter has only 22 runs in the series, batting in four innings. He has found himself on the edge and is desperate to come among runs. Former India cricketer, Sanjay Manjrekar cited a similar incident where Sachin Tendulkar was promoted to the opener’s slot by breaking the successful pair of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.

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"When Sachin Tendulkar was here for his final Test series in Australia and didn't get that century, that elusive 100th hundred, he stayed back and wanted to play the tri-series. The 50-over tri-series had Sri Lanka as the third team. Gambhir and Sehwag had a great run as openers and that opening pair was dismantled to allow Tendulkar to play in that position. One of them was rested every game to have Tendulkar opening for India," said Manjrekar on air.

For the unversed, the Jaiswal-Rahul pair notched up a partnership of over 200 runs in the Perth Test. But the duo failed to build substantial partnerships in the next two games in Adelaide and Brisbane. Several former cricketers had suggested to keep the duo intact in the opening slot but Rohit’s struggle in the middle order yielded no good for the team either.  

Rohit Sharma came out to bat with Jaiswal in place of KL Rahul who looked in great form in the last matches. The Indian skipper scored just 3 runs and was sent back to the dressing room by Cummins as he was caught by Boland.