BGT – Rohit Sharma opts to “rest” as Jasprit Bumrah leads India in Sydney

On By Littum

The issue of the change in leadership was not directly addressed at the toss at the SCG, with Bumrah only saying: “Our captain has also shown his leadership, he has chosen to rest from this match. It shows the unity of the team.” Bumrah captained India to victory in the first Test of the series in Perth when Rohit was on paternity leave.

Rohit had been a peripheral presence as India went through their final preparations ahead of the first ball in Sydney. He and the rest of the team arrived on Earth at 9.00, but it wasn’t until 15 minutes later that he stepped onto the away pitch at the SCG. By then, Bumrah had walked onto the field, gone through a spot-bowling routine and checked in with Gautam Gambhir. Rohit stepped down on the ground at 9.15 am. He also made a tick for the pitch, bent down and pressed his hands into it. He played some football with Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant. He was conspicuously quiet at the team with Gambhir and Virat Kohli doing the talking. Finally, he left the field at 9.40, just before the throw. The reserve players and support staff lined up on the edge of the boundary for the national anthems, but Rohit was not there.

Sunil Gavaskar said Rohit’s Test career was probably over. “I think it probably means that (if) India don’t qualify for the WTC final, the Melbourne Test will be Rohit Sharma’s last game,” Gavaskar said during the lunch break on day one. The (next) WTC cycle starts with the England series and the selectors are likely to have someone available for the final in 2027. Whether India get there or not is another matter, but that’s what the selection committee is likely to do. We have probably seen Rohit Sharma for the last time in Test cricket.”

Ravi Shastri was also of the same opinion. “If there was a domestic season coming up, he might have thought about continuing, but I think he might just pull the plug at the end of this Test,” he said in a comment. “He’s not getting any younger … it’s not because India don’t have youngsters. There are very, very good players on the wings and it’s time to build. Tough decisions, but there’s a time for everything.”

Speculation surrounding Rohit’s place in the team began after India lost the fourth Test in Melbourne, where he made scores of 3 and 9, when reports emerged that he was planning to retire from the format at the end of the series. On the eve of the fifth Test, India coach Gautam Gambhir did not confirm or deny whether Rohit would play in Sydney – he only said the XI would be decided after looking at the pitch. Rohit did not have as active a workout as some of his teammates.

He was subsequently left out of a Test which India must win to draw the series and avoid handing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia for the first time in ten years. After joining the team midway through the Perth Test following the birth of his son, Rohit relinquished his opening position to KL Rahul, who had played a crucial role at the top of the order as India took a 1-0 lead in the series.

But after scoring just 3, 6 and 10 in the middle order in the second and third Tests, Rohit moved back to open at the MCG but suffered two more failures, leaving his average for the series at a paltry 6.2 after five innings. He only averaged just 13.30 in ten innings against Bangladesh and New Zealand during the home season before the Australia tour.

Rohit’s year in Test cricket had started on a positive note with two hundred and fifty in India’s 4-1 win at home against England between January and March. He then captained India to victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup in June before retiring from that format, and it was only in September that the form dipped sharply.

If Rohit’s Test career ends with this Border-Gavaskar trophy, he will finish with 4301 runs at an average of 40.57 with 12 hundreds and 18 half-centuries in 67 Tests. His was a career in two parts. The former began with immense promise, with centuries in his first two Test innings against the West Indies in Kolkata and Mumbai, but he was unable to find consistent success in the middle order and was in and out of the side. In 2019, when India needed a new Test opener, Rohit was promoted to the top of the order and it was there that he enjoyed his best phase as a Test batter – 2697 runs at an average of 42.80 with nine hundreds. He took over as Test captain after Virat Kohli retired in early 2022 and led India in 24 matches.