Former India coach Ravi Shastri has shed light on why he did not immediately ask Jasprit Bumrah about Rohit Sharma’s absence during the toss of the crucial New Year’s Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Bumrah, standing in for Sharma as captain, won the toss and opted to bat on a challenging green wicket.
Despite the ongoing speculation about Rohit’s absence, Shastri refrained from directly questioning Bumrah. Instead, he chose to focus on the team combination. It was Bumrah himself who revealed that Rohit had opted to rest for the match, stepping down as captain. Bumrah explained, “Our captain has shown leadership by opting to rest in this game.” It shows there’s a lot of unity in our team, and we are looking to do what’s best for the team.”
Critics, like former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, questioned the handling of the situation, particularly Shastri’s failure to immediately address the captaincy issue. “I was amazed that at the toss, he wasn’t asked. That would have been the first question,” Manjrekar remarked on Star Sports.
However, Shastri clarified that before he could ask about the absence, Bumrah had already addressed the issue, saying it was a team decision to have Shubman Gill play instead of Rohit. Shastri acknowledged that such decisions could stem from a player being mentally and physically out of form.
Shastri also hinted that Rohit might be contemplating stepping away from Test cricket after the series, calling the decision to rest for the match “brave.” He suggested that after a string of disappointing performances and with younger talents emerging, it might be time for Rohit to make difficult decisions about his future in the format. Rohit had already retired from T20 internationals after leading India to a World Cup victory last year but has yet to announce his retirement from ODIs.
