India’s stand-in skipper, Ajinkya Rahane asserted that the veteran opener, Rohit Sharma has been batting really well in the nets and he would be seen batting at the top of the innings in the Pink Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). There has been speculation as to who Rohit will replace in the Playing XI in the third Test.

Talking about the same during a press conference, Ajinkya Rahane said, “Firstly, we all are excited to have Rohit back, his experience at the highest level matters a lot. He is batting really well in the nets, he has had 7-8 sessions, he started practicing in Melbourne as soon as he arrived there after the end of the second Test.”

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Ahead of the third Test against Australia, Rohit was also named as the India’s deputy skipper in Tests and T Natarajan was added to the Test squad for the remaining two Test matches against Australia on January 1. Australia has been able to score 200 just once in the ongoing series and a lot of credit for the same goes to Ravichandran Ashwin, who has managed to get a hold on Steve Smith  by dismissing him twice in the series.

Talking about the bowling plans Rahane said, “As a team, you have 3-4 plans and you have to see which plan can work on the given day. The thing with Ashwin, his knowledge, he is always looking to learn some new skills and that’s what matters a lot, really happy to see Ashwin bowling this well, let’s hope he continues his form in the next two Tests as well.”

Rahane also howered praises on Ravindra Jadeja and his contributions in the longest format, saying that the all-rounder has really improved his batting. Rahane’s remark came as India gets ready to play Australia in the third Test of the four-match series at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), set to begin from Thursday.

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Talking about Jadeja, Rahane said, “Jadeja has been really good, he has been doing really well for us in Test cricket, especially with the bat. His bowling – we all know he can contribute. As a batsman, Jadeja has improved a lot and that’s a massive thing from the team’s perspective when you know you’re number seven can contribute with the bat, you know a good score can be achieved. He has taken brilliant catches and his addition in the team helped us a lot.”