Rishabh Pant says Rohit Sharma handing captaincy to Jasprit Bumrah for Sydney Test an 'emotional moment'

Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant said it was an emotional moment for the team when captain Rohit Sharma decided to "opt out" of the fifth and final Test against Australia in Sydney and allow pacer Jasprit Bumrah to take over. Rohit was widely expected to be ‘rested’ for the series finale at the Sydney Cricket Ground after head coach Gautam Gambhir refused to confirm his place in the XI in the pre-match press conference and the captain was hardly involved in the training session .

Bumrah, who has been serving as Test vice-captain for a while and had led India to a 295-run victory in the series opener at Perth, was back as the leader in Sydney and the ongoing match will likely have marked the beginning of his full-time run as captain.

More from First Cricket News

'Every ball an insult to fallen soldiers': Boycott calls intensify ahead of India-Pakistan Asia Cup clash India vs Pakistan Asia Cup Match LIVE Score: Men In Blue face arch-rivals PAK in Dubai amid boycott call

“It was an emotional moment. He is our leader but it’s a team management call (of which Rohit is a part). I was not part of the conversations and can’t say more,” Pant told reporters after stumps on Day 1.

Also Read | Rohit Sharma rested for Sydney Test: Timeline of how things went bad for India captain

During the interview at toss, Bumrah had said Rohit’s decision to “rest” was a sign of the unity within the dressing room.

“Our captain has shown leadership, he has opted to rest,” said Bumrah at the toss. “It shows the unity we have in the team.”

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

'Won't require surgery...': Real reason behind Jasprit Bumrah's absence from 5th Test revealed in new report

PCB bans players from WCL over India-Pakistan match controversy

Rohit had been under fire for his poor leadership in the ongoing series, with the Indians suffering defeats in Adelaide and Melbourne and conceding a big lead in the rain-affected Test in Brisbane. The ‘Hitman’ was also proving to be a burden with the bat as he had scored just 31 runs at an average of 6.2 while batting at various positions.

Also Read | 'Doing the right thing, but...', Experts, fans react to Rohit dropping himself for Sydney Test

Though he is yet to make an announcement on the same, Rohit is expected to have made his final appearance in whites in Melbourne. Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had stunned the cricketing world earlier in the series by announcing his retirement after the conclusion of the third Test at The Gabba.

‘Wicket was doing too much’

Team India, meanwhile, were bundled out for 185 after skipper Bumrah opted to bat at toss, with the Aussie pacers continuing to dominate the Indian batters despite the change in leadership. Pant struck three fours and a mighty six for his 40, but took his time at the crease and was cautious in phases, consuming 98 balls during his stay in the middle.

The wicketkeeper-batter was making up for throwing his wicket away with rash shots in both innings of the fourth Test in Melbourne , and mixed aggression with caution fairly well for nearly a hundred balls before perishing while trying to take on in-form pacer Scott Boland, who was the pick of the Australian bowlers with figures of 4/31.

“I think in this innings, I was not in a frame of mind where I wanted to take charge of the game because the wicket was doing too much and the kind of situation we were in,” Pant said in the post-day press meet.

“I would say there might be a 50-50 chance which I could have taken early on in this innings but sometimes you have to play more secure cricket especially the way, wicket was behaving.

“We knew that if we lost one more wicket here, we might lose 2-3 in quick succession. So that was the idea behind the way I was playing,” he added.

Skipper Bumrah, meanwhile, struck in the final delivery of the day to send Usman Khawaja back in the pavilion for 2 as Australia ended the day on 9/1, trailing the Indians by 176 runs.

Though India were bowled out for a sub-200 score for the fourth time in the ongoing series, Pant felt India’s bowling unit had it in them to make 185 look competitive.

“I think I wouldn’t say it’s a par score, but I think anything over 220-250 would be a par score, but still a very competitive score because of the way the ball is moving now.

“I think there’s a lot of help for the bowler. It should remain the same, hopefully for us. But I feel it was a little tough. The ball was doing off the wicket quite a bit,” Pant added.

Not only are India hoping to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a series-leveling victory in Sydney, they will also be aiming to keep their hopes of featuring in a third consecutive ICC World Test Championship final alive in the process.