SYDNEY: Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma has reportedly opted out of the final test match against Australia minding his poor batting form and the mounting criticism. Vice-captain Bumrah will lead the side for the final Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia, scheduled on Friday. Trailing 2-1 in the series, India must win to keep alive the hopes of entering the final of the world test championship.

Jasprit Bumrah led India to victory in the first test at Perth. But the storyline changed in Adelaide and the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne as India stumbled before a mighty Aussie bowling attack. It was Rohit who captained the team in these two poor defeats. There will be two changes in the Indian team from the fourth Test. Youngster Shubman Gill will return to replace captain Rohit Sharma. Prasidh Krishna will also play in place of the injured Akash Deep.

KL Rahul will open the innings along with Yashaswi Jaiswal. Gill will play third and Virat Kohli fourth. It remains to be seen whether Dhruv Jural will replace Rishabh Pant, who continues to be in poor batting form. Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar will occupy the sixth to eighth positions. It is possible to play both spinners in the SCG, a terrain conducive to spin. Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Jasprit Bumrah will play as pacers.