India Test captain Rohit Sharma on January 4 put an end to all retirement speculations as he said that he opted to step down due to his struggles with the bat in Australia. Rohit also responded to teenager Sam Konstas riling up stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah towards the end of Day 1's play which was quickly followed by Usman Khawaja's wicket. Rohit said that his troops won't remain silent if someone pokes them.
"Hamare Ladke Shaant hain, Ab koi faaltu ki ungli karega toh hum shaant thodi rahenge. Cricket khelo bas, faaltu ka bol Bachchan kaaye ko Karna (Our boys are calm, but if someone tries to poke us without a reason, we will not be quiet. Play cricket, don't talk needlessly)," Rohit said during a coversation with presenter Jatin Sapru and former cricketer-turned-commentator Irfan Pathan on Star Sports.
Konstas had an altercation with Bumrah when the latter questioned Khawaja's time-wasting tactics. Two balls later, Bumrah found an outside edge off Khawaja's bat which went to slip fielder KL Rahul.
On Day 2, Konstas was Indian fielders' target as they sledged him. Even Bumrah said that Konstas is batting like a no.10 batter. In an attempt to be aggressive on a spicy Sydney pitch, Konstas managed to hit three boundaries. Eventually, Mohammed Siraj got the better of him in the 12th over of the innings. The young opener scored 23 runs from 38 balls including three fours. In the same over, Siraj dismissed Travis Head as well.
Konstas who made his Test debut at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) scored a half-century in the first innings. In the second innings, he was dismissed for a single-digit score at MCG.
Rohit praises Bumrah
Rohit also lauded Bumrah who he has seen grow as a young bowler at the Mumbai Indians (MI).
"The way he (Bumrah) sets standards with the ball, he is absolute class. When I saw him for the first time in 2013, his graph has gone really high ever since and has gone from strength to strength," Rohit said.
However, Rohit said that Bumrah should have opted to bowl first in the SCG Test.
Bumrah leaves field
Meanwhile, the Indian pace-bowling spearhead left the field early in the second session. He was seen in training gear leaving with the physios.