Rohit Sharma opens, KL Rahul at No.3 in place of Shubman Gill; “Washington Sundar returns to India’s XI: Reports”

India will opt for a revamp of the batting order in the Boxing Day Test as captain Rohit Sharma is likely to open the batting order again. Several media reports suggest that Rohit will open the batting line-up with Yashasvi Jaiswal in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the MCG in Melbourne on Thursday. The reports also suggest that KL Rahul will play at No.3 in place of Shubman Gill, who will either slide down the order or be replaced by Dhruv Jurel in the XI.

This move could also send a message to Shubman Gill, whose last Test fifty outside India came back in 2021.

Rohit has had terrible performances in the middle order so far in the series. When he returned to the team for the Adelaide pink-ball Test, he struggled to win due to the immense success of the opening pair Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul in the Perth Test victory. On his return, Rohit at number six could only score 19 runs in three innings, with a best of 10. Despite this, in 18 Tests played at number six, he still has an average of 48.00, with 1,056 runs and three centuries/six fifties.

In the current Test season, which began with the home series in Bangladesh, Rohit has scored just 152 runs in seven matches at an alarmingly low average of 11.69, scoring just 150 runs. This year he has made 607 runs in 13 Tests and 24 innings at a below-par average of 26.39, including two centuries and two fifties. His best value is 131.

Since its opening in 2019, Rohit has been one of India’s top performing stars in white. In 42 Tests as an opener, Rohit scored 2,685 runs in 64 innings at an average of 44.01, with nine centuries and eight fifties to his name. His best score is 212. He was India’s highest scorer in ICC World Test Championship history, with 2704 runs at an average of 42.25, with nine centuries and eight fifties in 39 Tests and 67 innings.

“Let’s not worry about who hits where. Something we need to figure out and not something I would discuss here. We will do what is best for the team,” Rohit had said on Tuesday when asked about his batting position.

Washington Sundar is likely to return to the India XI

As for the bowling line-up, all-rounder Washington Sundar could come into play, be it as a replacement for seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Reddy, who was one of India’s most consistent batters in the series, or in place of Akash Deep, remains to be seen.

With the series level at 1-1, both teams will play the much-anticipated Boxing Day Test in a bid to secure the crucial series lead needed to qualify for the final of the ICC World Test Championship.