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Rohit Sharma has decided to opt out of the final fixture of the ongoing 5-match series and the duo of Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar has agreed to it.
Rohit Sharma (AP Photo)
Rohit Sharma will not take part in the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney, starting Friday. If the media reports are to be believed, the Indian captain has decided to opt out of the final fixture of the ongoing 5-match series and the duo of Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar has agreed to it.
Rohit has been struggling in the longest format since the beginning of India’s home season in September 2024. The situation went on to worsen following a 0-3 whitewash at the hands of New Zealand at home. Coming to Australia, he didn’t get rid of the problems either. In Adelaide, he dropped himself in the batting order but the move didn’t pay off. He returned to the top of the batting order in Brisbane and Melbourne but that also didn’t help. The dearth of runs continued with fingers rising at his leadership.
The Boxing Day Test defeat hit the Indian management hard, going beyond head coach Gautam Gambhir’s patience level. On January 1, social media was abuzz with reports of Gambhir losing his cool in the dressing room and taking full control going forward. The next day he was there to address the press on the eve of the Sydney Test and stated ‘Everything is fine with Rohit’ but surprisingly, didn’t confirm his place in the XI.
Hours later, reports of Rohit getting dropped took over social media again, certainly hinting that the 37-year-old Mumbaikar is done with his Test career. If Rohit doesn’t walk out on Friday for the coin toss at the Sydney Cricket Ground, then it would be safe to conclude that Rohit, the Test batter, played his last knock at the MCG earlier this week. Rohit will also become the first Indian captain to be dropped on account of poor form and he would have none to blame except for the abysmal return of 31 runs from five innings.
Rohit took over captaincy duties after Virat Kohli stepped down from his post in 2021, after the South Africa tour. The former has 67 Test caps to his name and captained the team on 24 occasions – including the WTC Final in 2023. Rohit has won 12, drawn 3 and lost 9 as the Indian Test captain. During this period, he scored 1254 runs in 42 innings with 4 hundreds, averaging 30.58.
While Gambhir didn’t spell out the playing eleven, there were enough indications that India might bring back Shubman Gill at number three.
“Indian cricket’s transition is in safe hands as long as there are honest people in the dressing room. The only criteria to be in that dressing room is performance,” Gambhir said at the pre-match press conference.
Leading the series 2-1, a win for Australia will seal their place in the final at Lord’s against South Africa. India, on the other hand, not only require a win but also need Sri Lanka to not lose any of their two Tests at home against the touring Australians.
- Location :
Sydney, Australia