Sydney, Jan 1: After some brilliant performances on the domestic circuit and match-winning knocks in both the ODI series against the West Indies last year, Rohit Sharma is eager to make his Test debut in Australia. The 24-year-old has a good chance to make it to the playing XI in the second match of the series starting on Tuesday.
"Of course [I'm ready]. I don't want to be unprepared. My preparation has to be 100 percent. It doesn't matter if I am playing or not," Rohit was quoted as saying about his imminent inclusion in the squad.
The Mumbai lad is competing for a place in the middle order with another youngster, Virat Kohli, who was picked ahead of him for the MCG Test.
Kohli, who has had a good run of form in ODIs, has been less successful in the Test format since his debut against the West Indies in June last year. The batsman, who had scores of 11 and 0 in the Melbourne Test, has come under the scanner for his unproductive innings. Sharma, meanwhile, is all set to give it his best if picked.
"[The] preparation has to always be the same. I have to be ready [to play] each and every time because you never know, somebody might get injured on the day of the Test. You have to be ready," he said.
"As far as the team combination is concerned, we have not decided anything yet," Rohit was quoted as saying.
"Maybe tomorrow we will have a better idea as to what the wicket will be like. Probably by tomorrow I will be told whether I am playing or not," he said.
Speaking about how the team had regrouped since the loss at the MCG, he said, "We really had [some] good time off. We had a team get together on Saturday, which was nice. And we got back again today to see how we were going to take it forward.
"We don't want to think about what has happened. We need to focus on what we have to do now. The process is still on. Hopefully, things will turn around for us.
And what dominated the team discussions after the disappointing loss? "We spoke about what went wrong, and what we need to do. Stuff like that always happens whether you win or lose. That is nothing new for us. As I said, we need to keep doing the right things," he added.
Speaking about the Australian bowlers, who impressed at the MCG, Rohit said, "They really bowled well, we need to accept that. Our batters also batted well in the first innings, but somehow we didn't manage that in the second. Credit goes to their bowlers."
