Rohit Sharma opts to ‘rest’ for Sydney Test, Jasprit Bumrah to lead India in fifth BGT Test

It has been reported that Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has decided to opt out of the fifth and final Test against Australia in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar trophy. Jasprit Bumrah, who led the team in the opening Test match at Perth, will once again lead the side.

Rohit’s place in the team has come under scrutiny after his low returns in the ongoing series. After missing the opening Test due to personal reasons, Rohit has returned scores of 3, 6, 10, 3, and 9 and thus has only gathered 31 runs in five innings at an average of 6.20.

On Thursday, Rohit was the last to bat in the practice session. Earlier in the pre-match press conference, head coach Gautam Gambhir said they would take a call on the playing XI after looking at the pitch on the match day when he was asked about Rohit’s place in the team.

“Everything is fine with Rohit. We are going to have a look at the wicket and announce the playing XI tomorrow,” Gambhir had said.

Shubman Gill, who was dropped at the MCG, will return back to the team and will bat at number three. KL Rahul, who batted at number three at the MCG, will take the opening slot with Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Prasidh Krishna is all set to play in place of Akash Deep, who has been ruled out with a back spasm.

Meanwhile, under Jasprit Bumrah’s captaincy, India won the opening game at Perth by a gargantuan margin of 295 runs.

The fifth and final Test match between Australia and India will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 onwards.