Gautam Gambhir, Indian head coach, says it is not yet clear whether Rohit Sharma will make the final playing XI for India in Sydney for the last Test. This was revealed at the pre-match presser in Sydney on Thursday.
With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy under his belt, Rohit comes under immense scrutiny as he shows signs of hitting an abysmal low in terms of form. Even above and beyond team-bounds, the captain has no impact whatsoever, including his batting.
The combined misery of Rohit’s batting translates into his worst record. According to ESPNcricinfo, he has made only 31 runs at a lowly 6.20 in this series, making this average the worst for any visiting captain in a Test series in Australia (5 innings needed).
It could come to the point that, amid the paranoia surrounding retirement talks breathed down on his neck after much fire for his captaincy in the longer format, even the extreme may happen-dropping the skipper.
Gambhir has kept his mouth tightly shut on the matter, but he did mention during a pre-match presser in Sydney today that the decision regarding Rohit’s inclusion in the Playing XI for the final Test.
“We take the decision about the Playing XI after seeing the wicket tomorrow,” said Gambhir, according to TOI reports from the presser.
This final Test at Sydney could mean so much to India. It represents their hope of tying and retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy; more importantly, it keeps their final hopes alive for a chance to attend the World Test Championship against South Africa.
If India cannot win the final Test starting tomorrow at Sydney, it will then have to relinquish contention for that final spot to Australia, along with the prestigious Broder-Gavaskar Trophy.
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