New Delhi: There is a ruckus in the Indian cricket world before the Sydney Test between India and Australia. Gautam Gambhir’s press conference has created suspense. There are strong talks of Rohit Sharma being dropped from the playing XI. Now even in the practice session, no conversation was seen between Gambhir and Hitman. It was around 1.30 pm when India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir and Jasprit Bumrah headed towards the middle pitch of the Sydney Cricket Ground. A few minutes later, Rohit Sharma also joined the two, but there was hardly any communication between the head coach and the captain.
What did Gambhir say in the press conference?
Gautam Gambhir replaced captain Rohit Sharma at the pre-match press conference. He then decided not to confirm Rohit’s place in the playing XI for the fifth and final Test. When asked about Rohit’s place in the team, Gambhir said, “We will see the pitch and decide.” Soon after, he was seen talking to Bumrah while the rest of his teammates were ‘warming up’. Everyone present at the SCG noticed the lack of communication between the captain and the head coach.
Hitman may retire in Sydney:
Rohit Sharma is no longer in coach Gautam Gambhir’s plans, as he has managed to score just one half-century in the eight Test matches played this season. It is learned that an influential cricket administrator has spoken to the head coach whether the captain can be allowed to retire from Tests after playing the Sydney match. But the head coach’s priority is to ensure that India wins in Sydney and remains in the race to make it to the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Rohit Sharma did not look active in practice:
Rohit Sharma did not look fully active during practice. After a match of ‘foot volley’, everything became clear with a different kind of ‘slip cordon’ in which Rohit and Rishabh Pant were on one side and Virat Kohli on the other. Pant, Jaiswal, Virat and KL were also seen during the practice of slip catches while Rohit was not seen. The top order batting order became somewhat clear when Shubhman Gill joined the nets. During this time Rohit and Bumrah were in the dressing room. Gambhir was standing away from the nets and talking to Bumrah. On the other hand, Rohit was talking to video analyst Hari Prasad on the other side. They were standing at their respective places and there was no conversation between the two.
Rohit Sharma practiced for a while:
Rohit practiced for a while in the nets. It was just like the MCG where he came to bat after all the top order batsmen had finished practice while he had to open the innings. Rohit Sharma got bowled after missing the line of T Dilip’s throwdown. After Rohit’s training was over, he left the nets with Bumrah and Agarkar but Gambhir stayed there. It is learned that in the meeting held after the training, it was decided that Rohit Sharma will be given rest. After about 45 minutes to an hour, most of the players came out of the main gate heading towards the team bus. Rohit was not seen with the team and came out from the other gate and boarded the bus.
