Rohit Sharma will make the big sacrifice as India look for the perfect combination to drive home the advantage against a wounded but resilient Australia in the day/night Test starting in Adelaide, on Friday.
Rohit, returning to the side from a brief paternity break, has taken the tough call of pushing himself down the order to accommodate K L Rahul at the top alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. Both Rahul and Jaiswal excelled in Perth and had a big part in India's biggest overseas win.
Shubman Gill has recovered from a thumb injury and will be back in the side alongside Rohit.
Rahul looked solid with scores of 26 and 77 as he and centurion Yashasvi Jaiswal combined for a 201-run opening stand during the second innings of the first Test in Perth, which India won by 295 runs.
"He (Rahul) will open the innings. I will play somewhere in the middle," Rohit told reporters on the eve of the second Test.
Rohit is returning to the side after a short paternity break for the birth of his son. The skipper said that continuity wouldbe beneficial for the team.
"We want result, we want success. Those two guys at the top they batted brilliantly in Perth. I was watching from home. Rahul was brilliant to watch. He deserves that place at this point in time."
"There is no need to change that now, may be things will be different in future. Personally not easy for me (to move down) but for the team it made a lot of sense," said Rohit adding that he will bat somewhere in the middle.
Rahul, who spoke to the media on Wednesday, had said that he would have been comfortable batting at any position as he has long overcome the "mental challenges" of being a floater in the line-up.
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