Sunil Gavaskar responds to Rohit Sharma's 'flexibility' comment, warns him to not commit this mistake

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Sunil Gavaskar has reacted to Rohit Sharma's comment in which he said batters in the team should be flexible to bat at any required position in case a situation arises.

After the announcement of India's 17-member squad for the Asia Cup 2023 squad, Rohit Sharma was asked about India's batting order for the continental showpiece event. Rohit had played down the question saying a slight change in batting order should not trouble batters at international level.

"I know it's tough for guys on the outside to understand why a guy who bats at six is batting at four, but the message has been given. This is international sport, not club cricket, that you're talking about. It's not like we go to sleep giving a position for a certain player and then change it the next morning.

"We say, 'this is what we want'. You don't want to be handicapped or stuck with one player batting in one position. Having said that, you want to get the best out of players in certain positions. All seven-eight numbers are open to anyone, that's the message we have sent out for so many years now," Rohit had said.

Gavaskar has agreed to the 'flexibility' remark of the Indian captain, but opined that the opener should not come to bat down the order. However, he said that Virat Kohli can be sent down to bat at number 4.

"Any team has to be flexible...but I don't want to disturb the top order. I don't think Rohit Sharma should be looking to bat down the order. Yes, you can look at having Kohli at No. 4, particularly, if a wicket falls early because the new ball can do some early damage," Gavaskar said on India Today.

Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul have returned to Indian squad after their long injury layoff, however, the former is expected to sit out in the first match against Pakistan on September 2 due to a niggle injury. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma have also been named in the squad as a middle-order batter.