Twitter wants Rohit Sharma to open along with Mayank Agarwal at the MCG

Rohit recovered from his back injury and will bat at six.

Published - 25 Dec 2018, 10:26 IST | Updated - 25 Dec 2018, 10:26 IST

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Christmas Day started with a lot of surprises for the Indian fans as Team India announced their playing XI for the Boxing day Test. This is the first time when they have named the eleven 24 hours ahead of the game and dished out a completely new opening stand in Mayank Agarwal and Hanuma Vihari. The former is set to become India’s 295th Test player while the two-Test old Vihari will be opening the innings for the first time at this level.

The under-performing openers KL Rahul and Murali Vijay have been dropped after poor returns in the first couple of matches. India struggled at the top in England as well and the story continued in Adelaide and Perth too which has left the series in level terms now. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma was declared fit on Monday and has walked back into the side after missing the Perth Test due to a back injury.

Ashwin misses out

Ravi Ashwin has failed to recover from his abdominal strain even as Ravindra Jadeja is set to play his second overseas Test this year. Ravi Shastri had earlier stated that the all-rounder isn’t 100 percent fit to create a stir in the fraternity but then he was cleared to play later.

As far as the current combination is concerned, Vihari, who expressed his wish to open the innings if the team needs at the start of the tour, will open with Agarwal while Rohit Sharma is slated down the order.

This has turned out to be a mixed bag for Rohit’s fans as they are happy for his return but disappointed that the limited-overs opener won’t be facing the new ball in Melbourne. They demanded for the same on Twitter while believing that this is the best chance for the Hitman to seal his place in the side on a long-term basis.

Here are the tweets:

Woahhh!! Agarwal n Rohit to Open!! 😄
— Monica (@monicas004) December 24, 2018

@rohitsharma45 @imVkohli Rohit should be at opening place
— Rohit R. Vangari (@Imrv02) December 25, 2018

Opening Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal
— Afzal Musa (@AfzalMusa1) December 24, 2018

First time @imVkohli selected a best team after having lot of criticism.. Now it is the best time to make Rohit Sharma as opener n back him.. Great move…. Thanks virat… True cricket fan
— Rushikesh Patil (@ImRushi45) December 25, 2018

These playing xi for 3rd test match To prove to be effective and rohit and mayank will do opening partner…
— Ravishankar Sahani (@imRsahni) December 25, 2018