India is set for the battle against Australia in the fourth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy which begins on March 9 (Thursday) in Ahmedabad. Team India started off the Test series in a dominating fashion, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead to retain the coveted trophy. However, the world no.1 Test team Australia bounced back strong to seal a win in the third Test. Rohit Sharma-led men will look to deliver their best to secure a win so that they can seal their spot in the WTC final.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma cleared the air on rumors of Ishan Kishan replacing KS Bharat in the playing XI for the final game. During the pre-match press conference, the Indian skipper spoke in detail about India’s wicketkeeping conundrum and also came out in strong defense of Bharat amid criticism over his form with the bat.

Honestly, Rishabh Pant is a big miss. We all know what he can do with the bat on turning pitches. We knew he was not going to be available for us, that was one of the reasons we got Ishan. He is a left-hander who can play an attacking game. On the other hand, Bharat has spent a lot of time in domestic cricket and scored a lot of runs. It will be unfair to judge him on these kinds of pitches, explained Rohit.

Rohit confirmed that the team will continue to back Bharat and give him enough time to prove himself. I spoke to Ishan as well, even when he gets his chances, he will also get a number of games. We won’t drop him after two matches. That’s what we are doing with Bharat now, Rohit concluded.