Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif questioned Rohit Sharma's absence from the fifth Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. India's captain opted out from the last Test match of the five-match series against Australia after failing to perform in the last three Test outings.
Kaif blasts head coach Gautam Gambhir and selectors for taking the bold move before the Sydney Test. This is the first time in India's cricketing history that a captain opted out of a match. Kaif took his 'X' formerly known as Twitter to share his opinion on Rohit Sharma. Kaif reckoned that the conditions are not favourable to score runs as Virat Kohli and Usman Khawaja are also struggling to get into the rhythm.
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"There is no ordinary captain in the show. You either press them or drop them. Whoever this call is from, whether it is Gautam Gambhir or selectors, in the most crucial test match, your captain is a respectful captain, a leader. He made a team, backed the kids, explained them, won the World Cup 6 months ago, gave happiness to India after winning the World Cup after so many years. He is such a captain, he is a leader, you cannot drop him" said Kaif.
Coming back to the Sydney Test, In the absence of Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah takes charge as a stand-in captain for the Sydney Test where India opted to bat and KL Rahul opened the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. India batters again failed to perform as Australia bundled out visitors on just 185 runs where Rishabh Pant was the highest run-getter scoring 40 runs. However, Bumrah's last-over wicket helped India to make a comeback on Day 1. Jasprit Bumrah picked up Usman Khawaja's wicket on the last over of the day.