Former India coach Ravi Shastri revealed why he could not ask Jasprit Bumrah about Rohit Sharma’s absence in New Year’s Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. With India being 1-2 down, they desperately need to win this Test to retain the trophy. The last thing they would have wanted was uncertainty around the captain of the side, which was exactly the case in the two days leading to the series decider. The speculations were put to rest when Jasprit Bumrah walked out for the toss instead of Rohit Sharma on Friday morning.
Bumrah won the toss and opted to bat on a green wicket. Surprisingly, Shastri, who has been presenting the toss right throughout the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, did not ask Bumrah about Rohit’s absence straightaway. Instead, he asked about the team combination. That is when Bumrah himself revealed that Rohit had opted out of the Test match as a leader of the side. “Our captain has shown his leadership; he’s opted to rest in this game,” Bumrah said at the toss. “So that shows there’s a lot of unity in our team, there’s no selfishness, whatever is in the team’s best interest, we are looking to do that.”
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar was extremely critical of India’s reasoning and also the fact that Shastri did not ask Bumrah about Rohit. “I was amazed that at the toss he wasn’t asked. I have done the toss a few times. That would have been the first question after asking him what are you doing? I don’t understand this cloak and dagger that is there in Indian cricket,” Manjrekar said on Star Sports.
Shastri said before he could even ask Bumrah, the World’s No.1 fast bowler himself, brought up Rohit’s matter at the toss.
“Before I could even ask him (Jasprit Bumrah), he said the captain opted to sit out and said the team would be stronger if Shubman Gill plays. It can happen when you are out of sorts, you are mentally not there, and you don’t have runs under your belt,” Shastri said on commentary.
‘Rohit might pull the plug at the end of this Test’: Shastri
Calling it a “brave call”, the former India all-rounder said Rohit might “pull the plug” on his Test career now.
“It still is a brave call for a captain to own up and say, ‘I’m prepared to take the bench in this game.’ If there was a home season coming up he might’ve thought of carrying on, but I think he might just pull the plug at the end of this Test.
“It’s not that India don’t have youngsters. There are very, very good players in the wings and it’s time to build. Tough decisions, but there is a time for everything,” he added.
Rohit quit T20 international cricket last year after lifting the World Cup, but is yet to call time on his ODI career.
He missed the first Test in Perth for the birth of his second child and has not looked fully engaged since, failing to get past 10 runs in any of his five innings.
His recent form comes on the back of a similarly poor return during India’s 3-0 home series loss to New Zealand during October-November.
