India vs Australia: Who can Rohit Sharma replace in the playing XI for the third Test?

Rohit Sharma

Indian batsman Rohit Sharma is set to fly from Sydney on Wednesday to join his Indian teammates who have just levelled the four-match series in Melbourne where the third match is also expected to be held. The third Test was initially scheduled to be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground but due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the city, the Melbourne Cricket Ground is once again expected to host.
Rohit Sharma who was initially considered a limited-overs specialist made his Test debut in 2013 but found himself in and out of the team. From the 2018-19 India tour of Australia onwards, his consistent performances enabled him to announce himself as a mainstay in the red-ball team as well. After missing the first two Tests, it seems likely that the right-handed batsman will be drafted into the playing XI straightaway. But the question remains as to who in the winning combination must make way for him.
Vihari, Agarwal or Umesh: Who makes way?

Rohit Sharma has batted both in the middle order as well as in the opening slot for India though in his most recent matches, he played the latter role. There is a miniscule chance of the management not deciding to pick Rohit in the playing XI for the third Test. The reasoning behind the same could be that he averages just 26 in overseas Tests and that he is coming off the back of a quarantine period that could have left him rusty. Further, teams tend to leave a winning combination untouched and the same reasoning could be applied in Rohit’s case as well.
However, not picking a player of Rohit Sharma’s stature after being made to travel all the way to Australia and undergo a quarantine would not be very wise. So if Rohit has to get into the team, he will have to replace either Mayank Agarwal or Hanuma Vihari both of whom have been out of touch in the series (but shone for India in nearly every other series they’ve been a part of). If he replaces the former, the 33-year-old will slot right in to the opener’s slot.
However, if he replaces the latter, he will either have to bat at No. 5 where Vihari bats or must open the innings and push Shubman Gill to the No. 5 slot. This will be a difficult decision for the management to take because both Rohit and Gill are better suited as openers. The former’s average as an opener is a whopping 92 in Tests.
There is also the option of replacing a bowler with Rohit Sharma and going in with just four bowlers although this looks unlikely. In such a case, Umesh Yadav who suffered a calf injury yesterday might make way and bolster the batting line-up while significantly weakening the pace attack. It will thus be very interesting to see what decision the team management takes with regard to Rohit Sharma.
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Nevin Clinton
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