New Delhi: Team India will take on Australia in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Thursday, December 26. As per multiple media reports, Rohit Sharma is likely to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal at the MCG.

The reports also suggested that in-form KL Rahul will bat at No.3 in place of Shubman Gill, who will move down the order. The Indian captain was asked about the batting order for the fourth Test during the pre-match press conference but Rohit didn’t reveal anything. He also said that his decision to bat down the order is because the team want success. He further said that Yashasvi and Rahul batted brilliantly in the first Test and he watched how Rahul batted in the match and felt that there’s no need to change that batting order now.

“Let's not worry about who bats where. Something that we need to figure and not something I would be discussing here. We will do what is best for the team” Rohit said on Tuesday.

Rohit returned to the team in the Day-Night Test at the Adelaide Oval and batted in the middle order. He has scored just 19 runs in three innings at number six. At number 6, Rohit has scored 1056 runs in 18 Test matches at an average of 48.00 with three hundreds and three fifties.

The Indian captain has been struggling to score runs in the ongoing Test season. He has amassed only 152 runs in seven matches at an average of 11.69. Rohit has scored 607 runs in 13 Test matches, including two hundred and two fifties in 2024.

Washington Sundar likely to return to India XI for Boxing Day Test

As far as India’s bowling is concerned, Washington Sundar likely to be included in the playing XI for the fourth Test. Whether he will replace seam-bowling all-rounder Nitish Reddy, who has done well with the bat in the series or in place of Akash Deep, remains to be seen.

India need to win remaining two matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC). Rohit and Co. are currently placed in third position on the WTC points table.