'Pant, Gill, Jaiswal Are In Same Boat...': Rohit Sharma's Huge Statement On India's Batting Trio Ahead Of Boxing Day Test

Apart from Yashasvi Jaiswal's 161 in the second innings in the opening Test in Perth, he has struggled to score big. On the other hand, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant have wasted good starts and endured poor scores in the three Tests so far.

Rohit Sharma has opened up on the batting form of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant ahead of the Boxing Day Test match against Australia at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. India skipper feels the trio of Pant, Gill, Jaiswal are in the same boat when it comes to their erratic form in the ongoing Test series.

Apart from Jaiswal's 161 in the second innings in the opening Test in Perth, he has struggled to score big especially in the first innings of all three matches so far. On the other hand, Gill and Pant have wasted good starts and endured poor scores in the three Tests so far.

However, Rohit Sharma feels that the batting trio should not be "overburdened" with suggestions as it would complicate things for them.

"All these boys like Gill, Jaiswal and Pant are all in the same boat. (They know) what they are capable of doing, we shouldn't complicate those things," Rohit said in the press conference ahead of Boxing Day Test.

The India skipper backed Jaiswal to come good, saying that the left-handed batter can both attack and defend and he has had conversations with senior players to sort out a few technical issues.

"Jaiswal is coming here for the first time. He has already shown what he is capable of. He has got so much talent, when you have a guy like him, you don't want to tamper too much with his mindset.

"Let him be as free as possible and not over-burden him with too many thoughts regarding his batting. He understands his batting more than any one of us and that's how he has played his cricket," said Rohit.

"Their (Australia's) bowlers are the same. They have four seamers in their squad, one off-spinner...We don't want to tell him too many things about his own batting and we want him to play the way he plays. If he gets going, he can be very dangerous," he added.

The 37-year-old Sharma also mentioned that Gill knows how to score big runs and he is not concerned over his early dismissal in Brisbane.

"Talking about Gill, he is quality and we all know that. It's just about backing that quality and making sure we give clear messaging and like Jaiswal, we don't want to complicate too many things and he understands his batting really, really well," Rohit said.

"He knows how to score big runs and he has done that before. Just make sure you get 30s and 40s and make that count. Getting in here is the toughest part."

Indian skipper also brushed aside suggestions that pressure is rising for Pant to emulate his 2021 series heroics.

"There is no pressure on Pant. Look, he played three Tests here. He was in good form in India, made runs. We shouldn't sit here on judgement on basis of two or three Test matches. He knows what he needs to do," said Rohit.

When it comes to his messaging for the trio, the Indian skipper kept it short.

"They know what's expected of them and our job is to tell them to work on small things like game awareness. I don't think that we need to talk more and complicate their thought process," he said.