NEW DELHI: Prior to the Boxing Day Test, India captain Rohit Sharma maintained the suspense surrounding his batting position by dismissing concerns over a knee injury he sustained during practice on Tuesday, stating everything was OK.
During Sunday’s training session at the MCG, Rohit was struck in the left knee, and there was speculation on the extent of the damage.
“My knee is fine,” said Rohit during a media interaction ahead of the fourth Border-Gavaskar Test in Melbourne from December 26.
Rohit was away from the first Test match in Australia to be with his family when his second child was born. He was supposed to take back the opening position, but after India’s victory in Perth, when KL Rahul scored an outstanding 77, the captain moved down to No. 6.
Rahul has taken advantage of the situation by scoring a brilliant 84 in the first innings at Brisbane in the third Test, but Rohit has struggled to make the transition, managing just 10, 3, and 6 runs in the past three innings.
The captain declared that he would act in the team’s best interests.
“Let’s not worry about who bats where. Something that we need to figure and not something I would be discussing here. We will do what is best for the team,” Rohit
After his match-winning 161 in the first Test, young Yashasvi Jaiswal has not performed well, but Rohit stated that he will be encouraged to play his naturally flowing style of cricket.
“You don’t want to tamper Jaiswal’s mindset. He understands his batting more than anyone of us. You encourage him to play freely.”