Rohit Sharma reveals why he dropped himself from the Sydney Test: 'There was an argument'

India captain Rohit Sharma recently opened up about a big decision he made during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. In a chat with former Australian captain Michael Clarke on his Beyond23 Cricket Podcast, Rohit revealed that he decided to skip the final Test match in Sydney because he wasn’t batting well and wanted to do what was best for the team.

Rohit Sharma opens up on his decision

Rohit had a poor series with the bat, scoring only 31 runs in 5 innings, with a low average of just 6.20. India also lost the Border Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in 10 years. Rohit told Clarke that he had a conversation with head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar before the Sydney Test. He told them that he didn’t want to play, and while the two had different opinions, Rohit stood by his call.

“In the last Test match in Sydney, I had to be honest with myself. I was not hitting the ball well. I didn’t want to put myself in the team just for the sake of it, especially when others were also struggling. We wanted Gill to play because he’s such a good player and had missed the previous Test,” Rohit said.

“I spoke to the coach and the selector. They kind of agreed – not agreed. There was an argument around it. But sometimes, you just have to put the team first. That’s how it goes. It might work or it might not, but the intention has to be right. I was like, okay, if I’m not hitting the ball well, it’s right now,” he added.

Back-to-back ICC titles under Rohit Sharma

Just a month later, Rohit led India to its second Champions Trophy title in Dubai. India defeated New Zealand in the final to win their second ICC trophy in 9 months under Rohit’s captaincy. He scored 76 runs in the summit clash and was named the Player of the Match. He had also helped India win the 2024 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean a few months back.

Rohit is currently playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season for the Mumbai Indians. He is having a poor run in the tournament despite playing as an Impact Player. In the five matches that Rohit has featured in, he has scored just 56 runs at an average of 11 and a strike rate of 136.59.