'A Fallen Lighthouse is More Dangerous Than a Reef': Sidhu on Rohit's Exclusion

Former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu has panned the management of the Indian team for missing skipper Rohit Sharma, for the defining fifth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Sydney Cricket Ground.

Rohit "decided" not to play that game and he let Jasprit Bumrah take over for the Sydney Test, which marked his first-ever match as Indian skipper at the international level since Perth, in the opening game where he delivered victory for his team. Sidhu believes captain should never be dropped midstream nor given the option to opt out— as it sends wrong signals.

Comparing past captains like Mark Taylor and Mohammad Azharuddin, who were retained despite poor form, Sidhu argued that Rohit deserved similar treatment. A Captain should never be dropped midstream nor given the option to opt out … sends wrong signals …. Have seen Captains like Mark Taylor, Azharuddin etc continued as captain for a year even if they were in bad form …. @ImRo45 deserved more respect and faith from the management … Bizarre coz it happened for the first time in Indian cricket history …. Blunder - for a fallen lighthouse is more dangerous than a reef! " Sidhu tweeted on X.

Rohit has been under the scanner after a series of losses as captain. India's performance had dipped significantly, with the team losing five of its last six Tests under his leadership.

The most glaring low point was a 3-0 home series defeat to New Zealand last year, ending a 12-year unbeaten streak on Indian soil. However, despite this, many believe that the act of benching Rohit during his slump sent a wrong message to the cricketing fraternity.

The reshuffled Indian batting lineup, however, faltered against the Australian seamers on the first day of the match, and they could score only 185 runs in their first innings.

At the end of Day 1, Australia reached 9/1 with Bumrah giving India some hope by sending back Usman Khawaja for just 2 runs.