With Australia leading the series 2-1 and India needing a win to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Jasprit Bumrah walked out for the toss alongside Pat Cummins.
Under cloudy skies and after morning rain, Bumrah opted to bat first on a pitch Steve Smith has labelled the greenest he has ever seen in Sydney.
"Our captain has shown his leadership and opted to rest in this game," a defiant Bumrah said.Â
"There is a lot of unity in this team, there is no selfishness.
"Whatever is in the team's best interest, we are looking to do that."
Rohit's absence means KL Rahul will return to opening, while Shubman Gill comes back into the side at No.3 for the fifth Test.
Indian quick Akash Deep is also out with a bad back, with seamer Prasidh Krishna to come into the side.
Australia have just the one previously confirmed change, with Tasmanian Beau Webster to debut for out-of-form allrounder Mitch Marsh.
Webster was presented his Baggy Green by Mark Waugh prior to play, before posing for photos with family on the SCG.
Mitchell Starc will play after having scans on his sore ribs after playing through the pain in Australia's last-hour win in Melbourne on Monday.
A draw will be enough for Australia to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy since 2014, ensuring they have every Test trophy available to them.
But Cummins has made clear he intends to play to win in Sydney, with good weather forecast for the opening three days.
"We've had three quiet days since Melbourne, all the boys have pulled up well," Cummins said.
AUSTRALIA: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.
INDIA: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
37°C