New Delhi, Sep 12: Former Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist believes Rohit Sharma is a world class player and can open in Test cricket for India at home. The former Australia opener, however, feels Rohit can find it more challenging when India play Test matches in foreign conditions.
"At home, Rohit can most definitely play as opener," Gilchrist was quoted as saying by The Hindu on Wednesday.
"It might be more challenging when touring Australia, South Africa and England," he added.
Gilchrist, who was Rohit's teammate in the IPL during their stint with the Deccan Chargers, also said that the 32-year-old Indian batsman deceives people by his class.
"I love Rohit. We've played together for Deccan Chargers in the IPL," said the 47-year-old.
"I think Rohit deceives people. I mean, since he is a laidback (kind of) guy, people think he is not working hard enough. In reality, he is world-class," he added.
Earlier, M.S.K. Prasad, chief selector of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), acknowledged that K.L. Rahul's form in the Tests is a cause of concern for the team and the board might have Rohit to open the innings in the five-day format as well.
Rahul managed scores of 44, 38, 13 and 6 in two Tests against West Indies and hasn't managed a 50+ score since his 149 against England at the Oval some twelve innings back.
Former captain Sourav Ganguly has also backed Rohit for the Test opener's role and said that the star batsman deserved an opportunity in the longest format of the game.
Rohit, who had a great run in the World Cup 2019 as he slammed five hundreds, was in the squad for the West Indies Tests but was not included in the playing XI.