IND vs AUS 2020: 'Happy to bat wherever the team wants me to'

Having cleared the air over the controversy surrounding his hamstring injury and the tour of Australia, Rohit Sharma is now preparing himself for the Test challenge down under.

Rohit Sharma seems set to open in Tests in Australia, having made an unbelievable start as Test opener with two hundreds and a double century at home against South Africa. However, he added that he is ready to bat wherever the team management wants him to in the absence of skipper Virat Kohli.

"I will tell you the same thing that I have told everyone all this while. I will be happy to bat wherever the team wants me to but I don't know if they would change my role as an opener," Rohit Sharma told PTI in an exclusive interview.

The experienced trio of Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, and Cheteshwar Pujara will be key to India’s batting fortunes in the Test matches, as Kohli will return home after the first Test at Adelaide for the birth of his child.

He feels that, by the time he arrives in Australia, the team think-tank would have figured out his role. The 33-year-old is currently undergoing strength and conditioning work at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, trying to fix his hamstring that troubled him during the IPL.

"I am sure the guys already in Australia must have figured out what are options when Virat leaves and who are the guys who will open the innings," Rohit Sharma said.

"Once I reach there, I will probably have a clearer idea of what's going to happen. I will be okay to bat wherever they want," he added.tle.

Rohit Sharma to focus on playing in the ‘V’

Unlike in the limited-overs, where Rohit Sharma loves playing horizontal bat shots, the elegant batsman admitted that his focus will be to play as straight as possible in the Test matches.

"Nowadays, especially while opening the batting, I will have to think about not playing the cut or pull shots and focus on playing in the 'V' and as straight as possible," he said.

Rohit Sharma further opined that Australia’s pace trio of Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins or Mitchell Starc will keep it full with the new ball.

"With new ball, whoever bowls, whether it's Starc, Cummins or Hazlewood, they will obviously pitch it up, swing the ball.

"They would try to ensure with the new ball that they would get some movement off the air or off the pitch. With the new ball, everybody in the world loves to bowl up and send down one odd bouncer here and there,” he further explained.

Rohit Sharma has, so far, featured in 32 Tests, and has 2141 runs to his name at an average of 46.54 with six hundreds. However, he doesn’t have a great record in Tests away from home, something Rohit Sharma will be keen to rectify.