Rohit ‘rested’ for Sydney Test: How ‘Hitman’ and coach Gambhir’s body language virtually confirmed landmark change

Though he had indicated his desire to continue captaining India in Tests and ODIs and “lift the 2027 ODI World Cup” for the Men in Blue after retiring from T20Is last year, Rohit Sharma might just have made his final appearance for the nation in whites already. According to the latest reports doing the rounds, the ‘Hitman’ is set to watch his teammates try and level the Test series against Australia in Sydney from the sidelines rather than being in the thick of the action by sitting out of the fifth Test that get underway on Friday.

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According to The Indian Express, Rohit is set to be “rested” for the fifth and final Test against Australia, which will pave the way for pacer Jasprit Bumrah to return as captain for the first time since guiding the visitors to a 295-run victory in Perth . It will also signal the return of top-order batter Shubman Gill, who was benched for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne to allow Rohit Sharma to return to the top of the batting order, at the No 3 spot.

Rohit is understood to have informed head coach Gautam Gambhir and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar of his decision to opt out, with both of them agreeing with him.

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Gambhir had categorically refused to confirm Rohit’s place in the XI during the pre-match press conference that took place during the team’s training session at the Sydney Cricket Ground. “Everything is fine with Rohit. The head coach is here and that should be enough. We will decide on the playing XI after looking at the pitch,” Gambhir said during the press conference, in which he also confirmed pacer Akash Deep missing the final Test due to back issues .

Gambhir, Rohit ignore each other during training

If the press conference offered a glimpse into what was to come in the series finale, then the training session all but confirmed Rohit’s absence from the ‘Pink Test’.

Even before Gambhir went for the press conference, he was inspecting the centre wicket with Bumrah and Rohit, but was hardly speaking to the latter. And after the presser, in which he emphasised on the word “honesty”, he was seen having a long chat with the senior pacer while the rest of the team was warming up with a round of foot volley.

The complete breakdown in communication between the designated captain and coach only meant that Gambhir was no longer backing the ‘Hitman’ after he had scored just one half-century in Tests since September.

According to PTI, a senior Indian cricket administrator had a word with Gambhir to try and persuade him to allow Rohit to make one last Test appearance for the nation. Gambhir, however, turned down the request, reportedly stating his priority was to ensure India won the game in Sydney and kept their chances of featuring in a third consecutive WTC final alive.

Later during the training session, Rohit was not part of the slip cordon – which had Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Nitish Kumar Reddy with Yashasvi Jaiswal at gully. Rohit was also among the last to arrive at the nets outside the stadium, where he appeared a shadow of his former self while facing throwdowns from fielding coach T Dilip.

Rohit, who barely spoke to Gambhir throughout the day, was later informed in a meeting after the practice session that he was going to be “rested” for the Sydney game, which is a polite way of telling a cricketer that he or she has been dropped.

End of the road for the ‘Hitman’

With no Tests scheduled until the ICC World Test Championship final in June, for which India’s chances of qualifying appear unlikely at present, as well as the fact that he will not considered for the subsequent five-Test series in England, Rohit might have made his final appearance in whites already in Melbourne.

The skipper’s decision to put himself back at the top of the order after failing to fire in the middle in Adelaide and Brisbane didn’t bring with it a change of luck as he was dismissed for scores of 3 and 9 – facing 40 deliveries for the latter.

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Though India fought hard and took the game all the way to the final session of Day 5, they ended up succumbing to a 184-run defeat to concede the series lead to Australia for the first time in the ongoing tour.