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India captain Rohit Sharma will be facing his toughest examination yet when his side collides with Australia in the four-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series which begins on February 9 in Nagpur’s VCA stadium in Jamtha.

Much has been discussed about the pitch at Nagpur but the main issue for the Indian team will be their playing XI. Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid have to check many options to choose from for each spot in the playing XI.

Who will open with Rohit Sharma- Shubman Gill or KL Rahul? Who will bat at no.5- either Gill, Rahul or will India give a debut to Suryakumar Yadav? Who will keep wickets for India- young Ishan Kishan, who gives the aggressive batting option, or KS Bharat, a very good keeper, especially on turning pitches?

Speaking to reporters a day before the match, Rohit said on selection conundrum: “It is tough. The guys are in good form, pushing for a spot and doing really well, and it is tough to leave some out. We will take brave calls.

But it is a good sign overall that all the guys are performing well and in with a chance for selection. But we will see the conditions and pick teams accordingly. Different pitches would need different skillset. The message is clear, we would take horses for course and all options are open.”

He also expected this to be a very good series and an evenly played-out contest.

“We have four solid test matches to play in the BGT and we would want to win the series. It is going to be a challenging series and we have to be up for it. Preparation is the key. If you prepare well, you get results,” he added.

Just Focus On Cricket And Not The Pitch: Rohit Sharma On Australian Media’s Reaction To Nagpur Pitch

There was a lot of talk about the Nagpur pitch in Australian media, especially about the selective watering method employed by the curators. Rohit Sharma said that the focus should be on the game and not the pitch and also spoke about the importance of playing spin well.

“Just focus on cricket and not the pitch. After all the 22 guys out there are all quality players. It is important to have a plan and figure a way. Everyone has a different method. Some like to sweep some reverse some hitting over the bowler. You need to rotate strike and sometimes you need to counterattack. The captains would obviously try different things and change fields and bowlers. So you need to plan and play accordingly,” he said.

“Both have been terrific and both bring different thing. Gill obviously has been in great form and scoring heavily in all formats. Surya has been in terrific form in the T20 and hopefully he can bring that game into this format as well,” Rohit added.

The first Test will begin on February 9 in Nagpur with India defending the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as they have won the last three Test series between the two sides.