Australia vs India: Rohit Sharma to be back with ODI squad on January 8

After a lot of speculations, Indian right-handed batsman Rohit Sharma was included in the squad for the four-match Test series against Australia. He has shown sparks of brilliance and also turned up with a half-century in the first innings of the erstwhile Test at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The 31-year-old from Nagpur has thus far notched 106 runs in the series at an average of 35.33.

However, he won’t be taking part in the fourth and final Test, starting Thursday, January 3, at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) as he has already left for Mumbai yesterday to attend his wife Ritika Sajdeh, who gave birth to a baby girl. Even as India will miss services in Sydney, they would have Rohit back for the ODI series, as he would be back on January 8, as per reports in BCCI’s official website.

Huge relief for India

Going into the Sydney Test, India are likely to rope in Ravi Ashwin, Hardik Pandya or Kuldeep Yadav as Rohit’s replacement. However, the team would be relieved to know that the experienced campaigner would be available for the entire ODI series. This year, Sharma did exceptionally, both as a skipper and batsman. He scored 1030 runs in 19 matches at an average of 73.57 with as many as five centuries.

Rohit also flourished as the captain as he led the team to glory in the Asia Cup back in September, beating Bangladesh in the final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Rohit has an impressive record in ODIs on Australian soil. In 27 matches, the seasoned cricketer has been able to notch 1143 runs at an average of 51.95 with four tons and a best score of 171 not out in January 2016.

In fact, he has three of those centuries, coming against the Aussies itself. The three-match ODI series is set to get underway on Saturday, January 12 at the SCG. The second and third contest are scheduled to be played at the Adelaide Oval and MCG on Tuesday, January 15 and Friday, January 18, respectively.

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