Melbourne: Rohit Sharma India is likely to open the match against Australia boxing day test Starting Thursday. that means Kuala Lumpur Rahul The batting order will drop to third. The India captain played as a middle-order batsman in the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests but is likely to return to the top order in the fourth Test.
Rohit was asked about the batting order for the MCG Test at the pre-match press conference, but unlike his outspokenness before the Adelaide game, the skipper did not reveal any information.
“Let’s not worry about who is batting where. That is something we need to think about, not something I am discussing here. We will do what is best for the team,” Rohit said on Tuesday.
While nothing was revealed, the statement lacked clarity and conviction like when he revealed in Adelaide that India would insist on having Rahul at the top of the order. It will be difficult for Rohit to bat in the middle order but the captain is ready to take the batting for the team as both Jaiswal and Rahul performed well in the series opener .
“My decision to reject this order is because we want results, we want success,” Rohit said in Adelaide.
“Those two guys at the top – just look at this Test match – they batted really well. I was at home holding my newborn baby and I was watching KL batting. It was, honestly, amazing to watch. . Maybe things will be different in the future, I don’t know. So depending on what happens and how KL performs outside India, he might deserve the spot at the moment,” he further explained.
Rohit suffered a long knock during the team’s training session at the MCG and although he was hit in the left knee on December 22, the right-hander did not show any discomfort while batting yesterday. He was challenged with a mix of pace and spin in the first two sessions in Melbourne, but the final session saw a heavy sidearm load with a focus on getting the ball in long and outside.
Rohit did not fare well in 2024, scoring just 607 runs in 13 Tests at an average of 26.39. In the last 13 innings, he has scored just 152 runs, averaging less than 12 runs.
Two spinners?
Melbourne’s weather has a lot of tricks up its sleeve and they’ve been on display since the team landed here. Showers, wind, cold mornings and brutal afternoons. The predictions for the opening day are not very pleasant either, which is likely to force the Indian think tank to look for extra spinners for the upcoming Tests.
Pitches with plenty of turf are sure to bake in the hot sun, which brings washington sundar Back in the discussion, it could be at the expense of all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy. Pat Cummins expects Nathan Lyon to play a role at the MCG but Rohit remained tight-lipped when asked about the possibility of playing extra spinner.
“In this situation, whatever we have to do to form the best starting XI, we will do it – whether we add a spinner or not,” Rohit said on Tuesday.
The series is tied 1-1 and the match will be played at the iconic MCG Stadium, with over 2,50,000 people expected to be in the stands over the next five days. The Indian team has been in flux ever since it landed in Australia and the trend is likely to continue in the crucial matches starting tomorrow.
