India's captain, Rohit Sharma, was in a cheerful mood as he spoke at a press conference on Christmas Eve in Melbourne. He discussed his form and the team's preparations for the much-anticipated Boxing Day Test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Rohit answered reporters' questions with his usual enthusiasm.
When asked about Virat Kohli's struggles with deliveries outside the off-stump, Rohit confidently said, "You called him a modern-day great. Modern-day greats will figure out their way to overcome such issues."
Rohit showed full support for his long-time teammate, who has been tempted to play at deliveries outside the off-stump. While Kohli scored a century in the second innings of the first Test in Perth, he has often fallen victim to Australia’s off-side trap in the current series.
Kohli's scores in the first three Tests have been 5, 100 not out, 7, 11, and 3. Australian bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood have exploited his weakness, especially outside the off-stump. Kohli had been more disciplined during last year’s South Africa tour but has shown vulnerability in the ongoing Australia series.
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Rohit remains tight-lipped about his batting position
Rohit Sharma, addressing concerns about his own form, mentioned that he has been focusing on the basics during training at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Rohit confirmed that he is fully fit for the Boxing Day Test after recovering from a knee injury. However, he kept quiet about his batting position in the playing XI.
Since arriving in Australia, Rohit has been batting at No. 6, giving up the opening spot to KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal. The new opening pair performed well in Rohit’s absence in Perth. Despite this, Rohit has not had a significant impact from the No. 6 position so far.
Rohit said, "Let's not worry about that. The batting order is something we need to figure out within ourselves. It’s not something I should discuss in every press conference. Whatever it takes to make our team succeed, we will do that."
KL Rahul, selected for a middle-order role, has impressed with 235 runs, including two fifties. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored 161 in Perth, has faced challenges against the new ball in Adelaide and Melbourne.
Support for young players
Rohit also addressed concerns about the younger players, such as Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Rishabh Pant.
He said, "All these youngsters are in the same boat. We don’t want to complicate things for them. They know what is expected of them. Our job is to keep talking to them about match awareness and not make things more difficult."
With the series tied at 1-1, India is aiming to put pressure on Australia in the upcoming Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
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