Australian cricket team captain Aaron Finch is of the opinion that Mayank Agarwal can fill in the gap left by Rohit Sharma, who is unable to make it to the white-ball series due to a hamstring injury he sustained during IPL 2020.
India and Australia are gearing up for their upcoming three-match ODI series that is all set to start on Friday. The first match will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The Indian team will be without Rohit Sharma for the series as he is currently undergoing recovery at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. And to cover for him, Finch believes Mayank is a fit choice.
Agarwal has been a key player for his team, Kings XI Punjab, in the 13th edition of IPL. The batsman was in spectacular form throughout the tournament and managed to be the second-highest run-score.
While speaking in a virtual press-conference, Finch said, “He (Rohit) is a great player and he has got quite a bit of success against us in the past and it’s unfortunate that he will miss the limited-overs fixtures.
“You always want to play against the best players all the time and for Rohit, to pick up, a hamstring injury in the IPL wasn’t ideal for him but someone can replace him possibly Mayank Agarwal. He has been in great form. India will miss the experience of Rohit but then they have quality players too,” he added.
“The last time we played in front of crowds in Australia was a long time ago. So the boys are very excited. We are very fortunate that the government has allowed us to train in groups,”
The white-ball series will get underway on Friday. The three-match series is scheduled for November 27, November 29, and December 2. After completing the ODI series, both teams will compete in three T20Is that will witness its completion by the second week of December. The teams will then head to Adelaide for their day-night Test match. The four-match Test series is part of the World Test Championship.
