Rohit’s participation in the Sydney Test clouded in uncertainty as coach Gambhir refuses to confirm his availability.
Rohit’s participation in the fifth and final test at Sydney is no longer a certainty.
Whether or not out-of-form skipper Rohit Sharma would be included in the starting lineup for the Test match in Sydney in the new year was not confirmed by Gautam Gambhir.
“The head coach is here. That should be enough,” Gambhir said to a room full of reporters wondering why Rohit was not at the pre-match press conference.
Shubman Gill told the media that Rohit had also skipped it prior to the third Test in Brisbane, but that he had not shown up for the optional training session at the Gabba, where the press conference was taking place. On the eve of a Test, India has to win to tie the series and save the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but Rohit was there at the SCG even though Thursday’s training session was optional.
So the question was asked: Is Rohit okay? “Everything is fine with Rohit,” Gambhir replied.
And when he was asked again whether Rohit was going to play, he said: “We’re going to have a look at the wicket and finalise it [the XI] tomorrow.”
Rohit’s form has been lacking. He has only averaged 6.2 in this series and 10.93 in his last nine Test matches. On Thursday, he arrived late for India’s training. Although everyone was present, it might not be appropriate to read too much into it because the session was technically optional.
One of the first groups of batters in the SCG nets was Gill, who was not included in the MCG Test XI. They also included Dhruv Jurel, who hasn’t played since the first Test in Perth and hasn’t worked with the first-XI players very often. Jasprit Bumrah went straight to Gambhir for a brief conversation after exiting the doors leading into the members pavilion.
Rohit was still nowhere to be seen at the nets. He had been playing foot-volleyball in the main ground when he vanished. Rohit only went out to join the others, wearing only shorts and a sweater and without his gear, after they had been batting for an hour. He descended to where Hari, the team analyst, stood. Bumrah then joined the two. This had also occurred at the MCG. Rohit faced just throwdowns for a considerable amount of time after taking his time getting to the outdoor nets. The one distinction was that he also went to the news conference in Melbourne.
At the end of the Brisbane Test, Rohit had admitted that while he wasn’t batting well, he was still ticking all the boxes that he needed to.
“As long as my mind, my body, my feet are moving well, I am pretty happy with how things are panning out for me,” Rohit had said two weeks ago. “Sometimes those numbers can tell you that it’s been a while since he has got big runs. But for a person like me, I think it’s all about how I feel in my mind.”