India skipper Rohit Sharma is leading the team for the first time away from home in the ongoing WTC final. Since becoming full-time captain across formats early last year, he missed every overseas Test match. Ahead of the South Africa tour, he got injured and missed the entire series. Apart from this, ahead of the rescheduled fifth Test against England last July, he tested positive for COVID-19.
On the tour of Bangladesh last December, Sharma missed the Test series due to a thumb injury. Meanwhile, finally, the right-hander is playing his first overseas Test as captain. Notably, on June 6, he got hit on his thumb and there was an injury. Ahead of the ongoing game, the two-time World Champion took the stairs to come down for the coin toss. During this, he lost his balance.
Watch the video here
— Out Of Context Cricket (@GemsOfCricket) June 7, 2023
It was tough to leave Ashwin out: Rohit Sharma
Meanwhile, the India skipper won the toss and elected to bowl first. He cited overcast conditions on offer. He added that leaving out Ravichandran Ashwin to play four fast bowlers was a tough decision. Apart from this, Ajinkya Rahane has made a comeback in the team after early 2022.
“Its always been tough as Ashwin has been such a match winner for us over the years and leaving him on such an occasion has been a tough decision but you got to do the things that is needed for the team and eventually we came up with that decision. Ajinkya Rahane brings a lot to the table for us. A lot of experience playing in these conditions. He has done well for the team playing 80 odd Test matches. Yes he has been out for a while but the experience he has, can change all of that,” he concluded.
Australia Team
DA Warner, UT Khawaja, M Labuschagne, SPD Smith, TM Head, C Green, AT Carey (WK), MA Starc, PJ Cummins (C), NM Lyon, SM Boland
India Team
RG Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, CA Pujara, V Kohli, AM Rahane, KS Bharat (WK), RA Jadeja, SN Thakur, UT Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
