"It's a massive series for Rohit" - Sanjay Bangar on the importance of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for Rohit Sharma

Sanjay Bangar believes the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be a massive series for Rohit Sharma as India's skipper.

Rohit and Co. will lock horns with Australia in a four-match Test series, with the first game starting in Nagpur on February 9. The hosts might have to win the series by at least a two-game margin to assure themselves of a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

During a discussion on the Star Sports show 'Game Plan', Bangar was asked about his thoughts on how big a series it is for Rohit Sharma, to which he responded:

"It's a massive series for Rohit purely for the reason that whenever he was at his best, unfortunately, injuries made him sit out a lot of Test matches from 2015 to 2018. In 2018, when he was batting really well, he had to miss a Test match because he wanted to come back home to be with his family for personal reasons."

The former Indian batting coach highlighted that the opener has already given standout performances against England in home and away conditions, elaborating:

"He has already conquered in his own mind the challenge of batting in English conditions in Test match cricket as an opener. Against England in India, we saw what a terrific series he had at home. So he obviously would keep this at the top of his to-do mark to do really well as a captain against the Australian team."

Rohit scored 161 runs in India's first innings of the second Test against England in Chennai in February 2021, a knock that changed the course of the series. He also had an excellent Test tour of England later that year, with a century in the second innings of the fourth Test at The Oval being the icing on the cake.

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"Get through the new ball" - Sanjay Bangar on what Rohit Sharma needs to be mindful of during the Australia series

Rohit Sharma was excellent against the new ball in the away series against England.

Bangar was further asked about the one thing Rohit Sharma needs to be mindful of if he has to stamp his class on the series, to which he replied:

"Get through the new ball because Rohit Sharma has fabulous ability against the turning ball. If you look at his skills, he can go down the wicket, he can sweep the ball really well. Both these skills are going to be required, especially against (Nathan) Lyon."

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) head coach believes the Indian skipper can lay a great platform for the team if he gets through the new ball, observing:

"He has those skillsets, if he can see through the new ball with the same kind of discipline that he showed against the English bowlers in swinging conditions, I am pretty sure he will be able to set up a great foundation for the team."

Rohit has never played a Test match against Australia at home. He has aggregated 408 runs at a slightly below-par average of 31.38 in the seven away Tests he has played against the Aussies.