Rohit Sharma began his preparations for the third Test with his first net session in Melbourne on Friday (January 1). He had joined the Team India squad on Wednesday and had a training session on Thursday with the batting coach, Vikram Rathour.

Earlier today, Rohit was named the vice-captain by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the last two Test matches in Sydney and Brisbane. He will serve as deputy of Ajinkya Rahane who led the side brilliantly by scoring a match-winning ton in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

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Rohit, who missed the first two Tests because of a mandatory 14-day quarantine period upon arrival in Sydney, is likely to replace Mayank Agarwal or Hanuma Vihari in the playing XI with youngster Shubman Gill set to keep his place after an impressive debut at MCG.

BCCI shared a video of Rohit from his net session on Twitter and wrote, "The wait is over! The Hitman @ImRo45 show is about to unfold. #TeamIndia"

The third Test will be played at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) from January 7 with the four-match series currently tied at 1-1.