Former captain Sourav Ganguly reckons India should open with Rohit Sharma in the first Test of the series in West Indies and give him a longish rope there to finally settle in as a cricketer in whites.

Rohit's been a prolific run-getter in limited-overs formats at the top of the order but hasn't yet cemented his place in the Test side.

He could well be slotted in the middle-order like he has previously been done, though Ganguly thinks the management should let Ajinkya Rahane rejuvenate himself there and groom Hanuma Vihari for higher challenges.

"The major decision is whether they want to play Rohit or Rahane," the ex-skipper wrote in his column for TOI.

"Rohit was in blistering form in the World Cup, but in Tests in South Africa and Australia, he was ‘on and off’. Rahane was not his usual self in Australia."

"My suggestion would be to let Rohit carry on his good form from the World Cup and settle in the opener’s slot while Rahane continues his good work of lending stability to the middle order," he added.

Ganguly's suggestion, if obliged, will mean India breaking its set pecking order and dropping one of Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, who have been picked on this tour as the only two specialist openers in absence of suspended Prithvi Shaw and ahead of in-form domestic performers like Priyank Panchal and Abhimanyu Easwaran.

(Inputs from Reuters)