India will put off-field drama aside and hit the ground running: Jaffer

On the eve of the third Test between India and Australia at the SCG, former India opener Wasim Jaffer said the Ajinkya Rahane-led side will be charged up to put the off-field drama aside

On the eve of the third Test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, former India opener Wasim Jaffer said the Ajinkya Rahane-led side will be charged up to put the off-field drama aside and focus on the game.

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Recently, the Indian side was under the scanner after Rohit Sharma, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill and Navdeep Saini had gone to a restaurant in Melbourne. With the players eating at an indoor venue in Melbourne, Cricket Australia released a statement saying the five players have been put in isolation as a "precautionary measure."

"The BCCI and CA are investigating the matter and seeking to determine whether the outing constitutes a breach of biosecurity protocols," CA had said in a statement on January 2.

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Following that, the playing members of the Indian team and support staff underwent an RT-PCR Test for Covid-19 which returned negative results. "Playing members of the Indian Cricket Team and support staff underwent an RT-PCR Test for Covid-19 on January 3, 2021. All tests have returned negative results," the BCCI had said.

Jaffer took to Twitter and wrote: "India will be charged up to put off field drama aside and hit the ground running. Want them to bat but it won't be too bad if they're asked to field in overcast conditions. Pitch didn't see any Sun for 3 days, so bound to be a bit of moisture to help spinners on day one. #AUSvIND."

The four-match Test series between India and Australia currently stands level at 1-1, with the third game set to begin on Thursday at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

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India on Wednesday named the playing XI for the Pink Test. Opening batsman Mayank Agarwal has been dropped from the side and Rohit replaced him. Gill will open the innings with Rohit after playing knocks of 45 and 35* in his debut Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

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Saini comes in for speedster Umesh Yadav. The latter sustained a strain in his left calf muscle on Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and subsequently, returned to India after he was ruled out of the series.