All eyes are on Rohit Sharma as India square off against South Africa in the first Test at Vishakapatnam on Wednesday, as the star batsman of the limited-overs format makes his opening debut for the Test side. Rohit Sharma's name was nominated for the role of an opener more than six months ago and the talk has been on since then, revealed skipper Virat Kohli as he addressed the press before the match. Rohit Sharma, whose career as an opener in the ODIs and T20s spiralled upwards after a low start, was backed by the skipper Virat Kohli and the team management as the skipper clarified that there was no rush on Rohit Sharma to perform. Nevertheless, there has been a lot of pressure on Rohit Sharma, especially after he departed for a duck in one of the preparatory games. Ahead of India's contest with the Proteas, former Indian batsman, Wasim Jaffer offered to share some insights with Rohit Sharma that would help him in his much-awaited stint as a Test opener. 

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'Play straight and compact': Wasim Jaffer 

Being a former Test batsman and opener himself, Wasim Jaffer knew the tricks of the game and believes that patience will be the key for Rohit Sharma, as he told to a media source. Throwing his weight behind Rohit Sharma, Wasim Jaffer pointed out that The Hit Man should settle in the game with the mentality that he has already conquered the same bowlers in the limited over formats of the game and hence should not be intimidated by them. Further, Wasim Jaffer said that it was the tendency of the Test bowlers to pitch the ball up, make the batsman play expansive shots and set an imposing field for the batsman but Rohit Sharma's best way out was to go by the book and play straight and compact shots. Adding more insights to his advice, Wasim Jaffer also spoke about Rohit Sharma's defence techniques, mental attitude and strokeplay, adding details about how Rohit Sharma can improvise on the technique and settle as an opener. Wasim Jaffer also took to reveal a 'piece of advice' given to him by Sunil Gavaskar that he now wished to pass on to Rohit Sharma. Sunil Gavaskar had told Wasim Jaffer that the bowler must be given his time and opportunity and hence if one hour was given to him then the next five hours were for the batsman. 

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'No rush for Rohit Sharma to perform as opener', says Kohli

Virat Kohli backed opener Rohit Sharma and said that the batting depended on where the game was being played as conditions differ at home and abroad. Citing former opener Virender Sehwag's case, Virat Kohli explained that no one had told Sehwag how to play but once he had settled, he had gone on to wreak havoc at the bowlers and put India in pole position. Virat Kohli said that Rohit Sharma would eventually get to that position and that the team was not pressurizing Rohit Sharma to perform. Hailing Rohit Sharma as a 'mature and smart' cricketer, Virat Kohli said that Rohit Sharma would be given the space to finding the balance and said that the batsman's performance would depend on the situation of the game. Skipper Virat Kohli said that the entire team wants to see Rohit Sharma perform at his best and replicate his magnificent form in the longer format of the game. 

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