India’s Rohit Sharma joined the Indian cricket team at the team hotel in Melbourne on Wednesday ahead of the 3rd Test.
Rohit was greeted warmly by batting coach Vikram Rathore and teammates Ravindra Jadeja among others on his arrival at the hotel.
‘Look who's joined the squad in Melbourne. A warm welcome for @ImRo45 as he joins the team #TeamIndia #AUSvIND’, BCCI tweeted a video.
Rohit is favourite to find a place in the third Test in place of the below par Mayank Agarwal, so much so that his inclusion into the Indian team was backed by legend Sunil Gavaskar and former Australia captain Ricky Ponting.
"He (Rohit) will definitely play. He is a better Test player than Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw. If he is fit then he will straightaway slot at the top of the order," Ponting told Channel 7.
"Yes, yes, he is definitely going to play in this Test series. He is already in Australia as far as I know and he might not be playing the second Test but he will be there for the third and the fourth," Gavaskar told Channel 7 after India's disastrous show in the opening Test.
Gavaskar once again reiterated his stance on Wednesday.
"I will have Mayank-Rohit opening, Gill in the middle order, and Vihari goes out for the third Test," Gavaskar said on Sony Sports Network.
"Rohit Sharma will join the team tomorrow. We will have a chat with him to see where he is placed physically because he has been in quarantine for the last couple of weeks. We will also see how he feels before we take the call," coach Ravi Shastri had said in the post-match press conference on Tuesday.
Stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane had also made his excitement known after the win at MCG.
"We are excited about Rohit coming back. Spoke to him yesterday, he's waiting to join the team," Rahane had said.
Rohit has played 32 Test matches with 2141 runs including 6 centuries and 10 half-tons at an average of 46.5.
Rohit had sustained a hamstring injury during the IPL, which led to him missing the white-ball leg and the first two Tests of the ongoing tour.
The third Test is scheduled to be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 7.
