Rohit Sharma "Has To Change His Approach": Sunil Gavaskar Ahead Of South Africa Tests

As the Indian cricket team embarks upon a challenge they have never managed to ace before, the spotlight will be on skipper Rohit Sharma who returns to international cricket for the first time since the conclusion of Cricket World Cup 2023. Rohit led the Indian team by example, taking them on a run of 10 consecutive wins before the loss against Australia in the final. As India gear up for the South Africa test, the legendary Sunil Gavaskar wants the Hitman to change his approach completely.

Rohit donned an aggressive batter's avatar in the ODI World Cup, trying to score maximum runs in the powerplay. Gavaskar wants this approach to change.

"First and foremost, the challenge would be to get your mental state into a Test match situation," Gavaskar told Star Sports.

"He has been batting in the one-day format, where he had decided that he would be playing the attacking role and try and score as much as possible before the field restrictions were lifted in the first 10 overs. We saw that in the World Cup. That was his approach for the World Cup.

Contrary to ODI cricket, Test cricket requires a batter to last longer on the field, playing shots with a more measured approach. Gavaskar is hoping Rohit can make this change in mentality quickly.

"For Test cricket, he has to change his approach completely because he has to think in terms of batting the whole day. If he bats the whole day, then clearly, with the range of shots he has got, he will be able to end up with 150-plus not, then India will be 300-plus or 350-plus," he added.

"That's the change he has to do. As a batter, when you are batter-captain, the moment you score run, your confidence in leading the side also increases. That's going to be a big challenge for Rohit