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India captain Rohit Sharma has reacted to the 'dressing room leaks' amidst fifth Test against Australia in Sydney and clearly said that it doesn't affect the team as the players here are made of steel. Reports were doing round that everything is not well in Indian dressing room and head coach Gautam Gambhir blasted the entire squad following their humiliating 184-run defeat in the fourth Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
The report brought to light some disagreements within the Indian cricket team, particularly regarding player selection, leaving many perplexed. The unexpected retirement of R Ashwin midway through the series, may have hinted at the underlying tensions. The report further alleged that two players within the squad have ambitions of captaining the team, claiming to be 'Mr. Fixit' as Rohit Sharma's tactical decisions on the field were questioned.
In the pre-match press conference, even Gautam Gambhir was asked about the dressing room leaks to
"Everything is fine. Team first. It's a team game, and everyone understands this. Debates between a player and a coach should stay between them. Any conversations in the dressing room should stay in the dressing room," Gambhir said in the press conference on January 2.
Rohit Sharma reacts to 'dressing room leaks'
Meanwhile, Rohit, who opted out of Sydney Test, was asked about the same 'dressing room leaks' said that we don't want to waste time on it.
"It doesn’t affect us because the players here are made of steel. We have tried our best to make players like this. See, we can’t control certain things, and we don’t want to fret about those things. We don’t want to waste time on it. Let it happen (the leaks). What can we do about it? Just focus on winning the match and getting better in our game, that’s what we want to do," Rohit told Star Sports.
Rohit decided to drop himself for the grand finale of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney owing to his rusty form, which saw him scoring just 31 runs across five innings in the series. His patchy form also lead to retirement talks. However, Rohit made it very clear he isn't going anywhere quashing the retirement rumours.
"Look, like I said, this decision is not a retirement decision. Nor I am going to step away from the game. I am out of this game because I am not getting runs. There’s no guarantee that I won’t be scoring runs five months later. We have seen a lot in cricket, every minute, every second, every moment, life changes. I am confident things will change. At the same time, I have to be realistic as well. At the same time, some person is sitting with a mic, laptop or a pen and writing stuff, our lives do not change because of what that person is writing or saying," Rohit added.
"We have seen the game for so many years. These people can’t decide when we have to go, when we can’t play, and when we can’t captain the side. I am a sensible person, a mature person, father of two children. I have enough sense to understand what I want in life," he concluded.
Rohit Sharma's patchy run with the bat
Talking about Rohit's batting, across the three series he played so far in India's ongoing season, two of which were at home, Rohit scored only 164 runs in 15 innings at a shocking average of just 10.93, with one half-century score. Of those, 31 runs came in the ongoing tour of Australia, where he managed just one double-digit score.
Rohit's average at the end of the double failure in Melbourne stood just 6.20, the lowest-ever batting average for a touring captain in a Test series in Australia (minimum five innings). Previously, the record belonged to West Indies bowling legend Courtney Walsh, who had recorded an average of just 7.75 in the 1996/97 tour of Australia.
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