With Jasprit Bumrah walking out to lead Team India on day one of fifth and final Test against Australia in Sydney, he revealed that Rohit Sharma has opted to rest of the fixture. The 31-year-old had the coin toss fall in his favour and opted to bat first despite the overcast conditions.
The 37-year-old opener remains under massive scrutiny due to his woeful returns in the three Tests against Australia. Rohit missed the opening Test in Perth due to paternity leave and slotted back into the side in Adelaide. He batted at number six in Adelaide and Brisbane but had scores of 3, 6 and 10 in those. However, the veteran struggled even after opening in Melbourne, registering scores of 3 & 9 as Australia romped to a 2-1 series lead.
It’s #JaspritBumrah who won the toss & opted to bat first in the series decider at the SCG! #AUSvINDOnStar 5th Test, Day 1, LIVE NOW! | #ToughestRivalry #BorderGavaskarTrophy pic.twitter.com/hOcL7JtYQP
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) January 2, 2025
Speaking at the toss, Bumrah stated:
“We are looking to bat first. We have played some good cricket. The last match was exciting. The grass doesn’t look spicy. We always have learnt to digest defeats. We will look forward to this. Our skipper has opted to rest. It shows the unity we have. We have two changes. Rohit has opted out and Prasidh comes in for the injured Akashdeep.”
India and Australia playing XI for the Sydney Test:
Australia (Playing XI): Sam Konstas, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.
India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah(c), Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj.
