According to reports, Rohit Sharma has opted to rest for the fifth and final Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) game against Australia in Sydney from Friday, January 3. In place of him, Jasprit Bumrah is likely to lead the Indian side, who are 1-2 down in the series.
Rohit has failed badly in the series, returning with scores of 3, 6, 10, 3 & 9. Despite returning to his preferred opening slot in Melbourne, the Indian captain failed to fuel confidence in the side with his positive start. Rather, he was involved in some strange shot selections and gave away his wicket easily to the opposition.
Several former cricketers also made an indication that looking at Rohit Sharma’s form, the Sydney test could be his final appearance in the Whites. Now, as per the reports, the 37-year-old has spoken to head coach Gautam Gambhir and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar about his decision to skip the final test.
The rumors of Rohit Sharma’s absence went abuzz after Gambhir attended the pre-match press conference instead of the captain. On being asked about Rohit’s participation in the game, Gambhir remained tight-lipped and stated that the XI will be decided on the basis of the surface in the morning.
“Everything is fine with Rohit and I don’t think it’s anything traditional. The head coach is here and that should be good enough. We are going to have a look at the wicket and finalise it tomorrow,” he said.
Gambhir, Rohit, and Bumrah were also seen having long chats, while other players were busy in the practice session.
India secured a dominating victory in Perth under Jasprit Bumrah
The final showdown in Sydney promises to be a gripping one, as both teams stake claim for winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The hosts will be more desperate, as they haven’t laid their hands on the trophy since 2014-15. Meanwhile, India will be looking to come up with improved performances and retain the series.
With Jasprit Bumrah likely back at the helm, the Indian team would surely be confident of recreating their impressive performances in Perth. Although, nothing extraordinary was expected from the visitors after they were bowled out for 150, the bowlers produced a fighting comeback for India to bundle out Australia for 104. Then, the impactful performances from batters helped the side to eventually win by 295 runs.
Bumrah acted as the stand-in captain and took a total of eight wickets to bag the Player of the Match award. A similar performance is expected from the right-arm pacer, who has pocketed 30 scalps in the series.
As for the changes, Shubman Gill is likely to replace Rohit Sharma, while Prasidh Krishna can fill in for the absence of injured Akash Deep.
