India’s stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah revealed the reasons behind regular skipper Rohit Sharma’s absence in the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney.
Confirming the reports that have been the biggest talking point in Indian cricket in the lead-up to the fifth Test against Australia, Jasprit Bumrah and not Rohit Sharma walked out for the toss at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday. The fast bowler won the toss and opted to bat on a fresh and lively-looking SCG track but that was hardly the headline of the morning. It was his presence at the toss and not regular captain Rohit’s.
Jasprit Bumrah tells Ravi Shastri that Rohit Sharma has opted out of the fifth Test in Sydney
Why was Rohit Sharma not playing? Was Rohit dropped? Was he injured? Did he decide to retire? Will he play Test cricket again? The questions (at least some of them) were answered by Bumrah when he announced that Rohit himself decided to opt out of the last Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“Our captain has shown leadership by opting to rest in this game,” Bumrah said at the toss.
The World’s No.1 bowler also reminded the fans that Rohit’s selfless move was a testimony to the unity in the Indian camp, which was questioned by various reports after India’s loss to Australia at the MCG. “That shows there’s a lot of unity in this team. There’s no selfishness. Whatever is in the team’s best interest, we are looking to do that,” Bumrah added.
Shubman Gill replaces Rohit Sharma in India’s XI
Rohit was replaced by Shubman Gill in India’s XI. The right-hander, who was dropped from the previous match, will bat at No.3, while KL Rahul will again move right at the top of the order with Yashasvi Jaiswal. India were forced to make another change in the bowling department. Fast bowler Akash Deep was unavailable for selection due to a back injury. He was replaced by Prasidh Krishna, who will play his first match of the series.
“We’ve played some really good cricket in this series. The last match was pretty exciting. Hopefully we can put up a good show. It seems to be some grass. It doesn’t look to have too many demons or look too spicy. Obviously, there will be a challenge with the new ball, but if you get through, it’s always a good batting track. Two changes, Rohit has opted to rest and Akash Deep is injured so Prasidh comes in,” Bumrah said.
The writing was on the wall when head coach Gautam Gambhir, on the eve of the series decider, refused to confirm Rohit Sharma’s availability despite being asked twice by two different reporters in the pre-match conference. Later, Rohit was seen absent from the slip cordon, where Virat Kohli was positioned at first slip when India had their fielding drill in Sydney. The Indian captain was largely away from the training session. He didn’t do any fielding practice and padded up when all the regular batters had already finished their knocking in the nets.
