India opener Rohit Sharma, after missing a major part of the all-important Australia tour, is set to join the team in Melbourne on Wednesday. Rohit, 33, flew down to Australia in December, days before the start of the four-Test series.
Ahead of the third Test of the series in Sydney, the Indian team management is facing a sweet selection dilemma. If deemed fit, Rohit will open the innings with Mayank Agarwal or Shubman Gill in the Sydney Test. While many would call for Agarwal's omission to accommodate Rohit, former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar feels otherwise.
According to Gavaskar, Rohit and Mayank both should open the batting for India, with Gill being pushed down to the middle-order. Gavaskar feels Rohit should replace Hanuma Vihari in the batting set-up. Vihari has been struggling to notch up a big score so far, having scored just 45 runs in first two Tests. Agarwal hasn't been great either, gathering just 31 in Adelaide and Melbourne.
“I will have Mayank – Rohit opening, Gill in the middle order, and Vihari goes out for the third Test,” he said while speaking after the conclusion of the second Test on Sony Sports Network.
India currently find themselves in a commanding position after handing Australia an eight-wicket victory at the MCG on Tuesday. The series is currently tied at 1-1 after India's comfortable victory in Boxing Day Test. The touring party, led by stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane's ton, registered a comprehensive win on Day 4 in Melbourne to level the series and shrug off memories of their shambolic batting collapse at Adelaide Oval.
Meanwhile, India head coach Ravi Shastri has said that the team management will first have a chat with Rohit before taking any call. The prolific opener, who led Mumbai Indians to their fifth IPL T20 title in December, suffered a hamstring injury during the T20 tournament in the UAE.
"Rohit joins the team tomorrow. We will have a chat with him to see where he is placed physically because he has been quarantined for a couple of weeks. We will have to see now how he feels before we take the call," said Shastri.
