Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar feels that India captain Rohit Sharma has played his last Test for the team at Melbourne Cricket Ground after opting to rest for the fifth Test against Australia in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
Rohit's participation in the final match of the series was uncertain following head coach Gautam Gambhir's uncanny reply on the captain's inclusion in the playing 11 during the pre-match press conference on Thursday.
But in the latter half of the day on Thursday evening, it emerged that Rohit would not be available for the game. So, by the time the toss took place, Jasprit Bumrah donned the hat of captaincy while Shubman Gill replaced Rohit in the playing 11. The other change India made to its team was the replacement of the injured Akash Deep with Prasidh Krishna.
The struggle with the bat forced Rohit to leave the spot for the youngster. He scored just 31 runs in five innings of three Tests, appearing far from his usual self and struggling even to execute shots that had become his trademarks, such as the front pull. The pitch was particularly tricky for Rohit in Test cricket in 2024. Over 14 matches and 26 innings, he managed to score 619 runs at an average of 24.76 with just two centuries and a half-century against his name.
As the WTC cycle has come to an end for India with the tour of Australia, Gavaskar believes this is the opportune time to look forward to the future cycle.
"So probably what it means is that India will not be qualified for the World Test Championship final. To me, it seems that the Melbourne Test might be the last game played for Rohit Sharma. The new cycle of the World Test Championship would begin from the series in England and so they will look to have someone who might be present for the final to be held in 2027. Whether India makes it to the final or not is another issue, but I think that's what the selection committee will do. So maybe we have seen the last of Rohit Sharma in Test cricket," said Gavaskar on Star Sports.
The veteran suggested that Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of the selection committee, might have had a say in the decision to rest Rohit for the final Test of the series. India were trailing 1-2 ahead of the Sydney Test, and a win in the final match was necessary to keep their hopes alive for a spot in the WTC final.
"At the end of the day he's also part of the selection committee. What happens in Indian cricket is there is a selection committee which chooses the squad to go to travel overseas. Then when you come overseas, the captain, the coach, and I think if there's one selector, they generally form the selection committee. I believe the chairman of the selection committee, Ajit Agarkar here in town, so he would have been part of the call that was taken. Maybe some of the senior players in the team would have been asked," Gavaskar added.
On being asked by Ravi Shastri about Rohit after winning the toss, Bumrah said, "Our captain has shown leadership; he has opted to rest. It shows the unity we have. We have two changes. Rohit has opted out and Prasidh comes in for the injured Akash Deep."
Read also| 5th Test: Skipper Bumrah Chooses to Bat After India Wins Toss Against Australia
Read also| Indian Tycoon Sajjan Jindal Attends Nawaz Sharif's Grandson's Wedding in Lahore
