NEWS
Follow UsIndian captain Rohit Sharma is set to be ‘rested’ for the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the Indian Express reported on January 2 (Thursday).
Jasprit Bumrah, who led India to a victory in the opening Test of the series in Perth, is set to captain India in the Sydney Test, starting on January 3 (Friday).
According to the report, Rohit informed head coach Gautam Gambhir and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar of his decision to opt out of the final Test of the series, with the two agreeing.
KL Rahul, who batted at No.3 to adjust Rohit at the top of the order in Melbourne, is set to open in Sydney. Meanwhile Shubman Gill, who was dropped for the last Test, will return to the XI.
Injured paceman Akash Deep will be replaced by tall and lanky seamer from Karnataka, Prasidh Krishna. There were also question marks over Rishabh Pant's spot in the XI but the wicketkeeper-batter will likely retain his spot.
Rohit has scored one run more than the number of wickets Bumrah has claimed in the series. 31 runs across five innings @ 6.20 - this is the second-worst average for a top-six batter in a Test series against Australia in Australia.
This is also the fourth-lowest average for an Indian batter in an away series (minimum 100 balls faced) after Ishant Sharma (average of 4 in England in 2011), Anil Kumble (4.83 in Sri Lanka in 2008), and Ishant again (5.25 in England in 2018).
In the pre-match press conference, when Gambhir was asked about Rohit's spot in the XI for the last Test, the head coach said: "We will take the Playing XI call after looking at the pitch tomorrow. Everything is fine with Rohit, and we will announce that (Playing 11) after seeing the pitch tomorrow."
India are 1-2 down in the series, and they must win the Sydney Test to not only retain the BGT but also keep themselves in the hunt for a place in the World Test Championship final.
