Watch: Rohit Sharma hits the nets ahead of India's third Test against Australia

Rohit Sharma took to the nets on Friday as India continued their preparations for the third Test against Australia. The hitman looked to be in good form as he faced up to India's net bowlers on New Year's Day. The 33-year-old played some promising defensive and attacking shots, an encouraging sign for India ahead of the third Test.

The BCCI uploaded a video on Twitter, recapping the best bits of Rohit Sharma's stint at the nets -

The wait is over!The Hitman @ImRo45 show is about to unfold.💥😎 #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/DdagR1z4BN

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 1, 2021

Rohit Sharma missed the first Two tests of the Border-Gavaskar series but is in contention to return to the playing XI for the third Test match in Sydney. The batsman has fully recovered from his hamstring injury and isn't showing any signs of rust in training, even though his previous game came all the way back in November.

He led the Mumbai Indians to victory in the IPL 2020 final by scoring an impressive half-century. But he hasn't played since, and it will be interesting to see how he fares in the third Test.

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Who could Rohit Sharma replace in the India playing XI?

Mayank Agarwal could make way for Rohit Sharma in the India batting line-up

To accommodate Rohit Sharma in the playing XI, the most likely candidate to drop out is Mayank Agarwal. The opening batsman has scored just 31 runs in his four innings so far in the series, with a best score of 17. Hanuma Vihari could be another player at risk, but Agarwal seems to be the direct swap.

Rohit Sharma will no doubt add some aggression at the top of India's batting order. He averages 46.54 in Test cricket and has six hundreds to his name in 32 matches, with a best score of 212.

The third Test between India and Australia gets underway on January 07 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The Border-Gavaskar series is currently level at 1-1, going into the final two Test matches.