Buoyed by their spectacular series-levelling win in Melbourne, India are upbeat about Rohit Sharma adding more horsepower to their engine in the third Test of the four-match series, which begins in Sydney on January 7.
Rohit joined the team in Melbourne on Wednesday after completing his two-week quarantine and resumed training on Thursday at the MCG with batting coach Vikram Rathour and a couple of throwdown specialists. “The engine is just getting started and here is a quick glimpse of what lies ahead. #TeamIndia #AUSvIND,” said a tweet on the BCCI’s official Twitter handle.
With Rohit, who missed the first two Tests, looking fit, it’s almost certain that he will be in the playing XI in the New Year’s Test. The question, however, is who will he replace?
The most straightforward option is to drop Mayank Agarwal, who has struggled in all four innings so far as an opener.
But there are other equations that could come into play. Mayank may keep his place in the team and Rohit, in that case, can replace Hanuma Vihari. In such a scenario, the question will be about the batting order. Mayank and Shubman Gill may continue as openers with Rohit being slotted in the middle order. Or Rohit and Mayank will get to open with young Gill pushed down the order.
KL Rahul coming back into the side in place of Vihari is also one of the possibilities. Then Mayank will have to be dropped to accommodate Rohit.
The Ajinkya Rahane-led squad, on break till Friday, are set to reach Sydney on Monday and it’s understood that the team combination is likely to be finalised only after the practice sessions ahead of the third Test.
Bowling-wise, India will need to decide on who will replace the injured Umesh Yadav, who’s all set to return home and head to NCA in Bangalore for recovery.
Left-arm pacer T. Natarajan, who was quite impressive with the white ball in the first half of the tour, may get a look in.
According to sources, the variation Natarajan can lend to the Indian bowling attack being a left-arm quick could well come in handy given the conditions in Sydney. Though the Natarajan angle has come up strongly, one cannot completely rule out the chances of Navdeep Saini or Shardul Thakur of making the playing XI for Sydney.
Australia’s batting has been wobbly so far and even David Warner’s return may not be enough boost for them unless the likes of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne starts firing with the bat. So India will have to choose their bowling attack wisely if they want to keep up the pressure on the hosts.
