Aus vs Ind 2018: 3 Reasons why Rohit Sharma should open the batting in the Test series

Attacking Nature

Rohit Sharma's limited overs career was also revived thanks to his promotion to

top

of the order.

Rohit Sharma's ODI average is more than any of India's mainstay openers ever - including Gavaskar, Srikkanth, Shastri, Sachin, Sourav, Sehwag and even his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan.

Rohit displayed his potential in his first ever T20I innings, when he came in for an injured, in-form Yuvraj Singh in a match which India had to win convincingly to make it to the semifinals of the inaugural ICC World T20.

An attacking half-century in only his second international innings after the top order had failed helped India win not only the match, but the tournament as well - with his cameo in the final taking the team to a respectable score.

While he was given many chances in the middle order, he failed to score big runs regularly. After Sachin's retirement, and when India decided to replace even Gambhir and Sehwag, Rohit seized the opportunity to grab the opening slot in ODIs along with Shikhar Dhawan. He scored multiple ODI centuries in 2013, including a double-century against Australia.

With a strike rate close to 140, Rohit Sharma is the only international cricketer with four T20I centuries. With most of his 25 limited-overs centuries coming at top of the order, Rohit's three centuries in Tests - though all in the middle order - have come against easy oppositions and all at home.

He does not have a single Test century outside India, having played in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, England, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Going by his past record, if there is any slot that can be experimented with Rohit Sharma, it is undoubtedly the opener's slot.