MELBOURNE: Rohit Sharma, who spent his second consecutive day training at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday as the rest of the Indian team unwound, has been picked as vice-captain of the Indian team for the last two Tests. In a statement that announced T Natarajan and Shardul Thakur as replacements for Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) also named Rohit as Ajinkya Rahane’s deputy.
Rahane is the stand-in captain in place of regular skipper Virat Kohli who has returned to attend the birth of his child. Rohit could now open with Shubman Gill in the third Test in place of out-of-form Mayank Agarwal although Ravi Shastri had said this week that they will talk to him.