Former Indian player Aakash Chopra has said that it was Rohit Sharma‘s call to drop himself from India’s playing Xl for the fifth test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
He also noted that head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selectors Ajit Agarkar will be in a tough spot if the Indian skipper doesn’t take that call himself.
After India suffered an 184-run defeat in the fourth game of the Australia tests on December 30.
After the defeat, Aakash Chopra shared a video on his YouTube Channel opining that Rohit Sharma should drop himself for the Sydney Test. He also wondered whether Gambhir and Agarkar would be bold enough to take that call otherwise.
“No captain would have done that thus far that he drops himself. Retirement is his personal call but selection is the selectors’ job. However, as a captain, the selectors don’t want to take that call.”
“You have made him the captain for the entire tour. So you don’t take that call mid-tour. So the call is now with Rohit Sharma,” he said.
“Will he drop himself in the team’s interest? I am not saying retirement. I am saying sitting out the Sydney Test as he is unable to contribute.”
“It will be a fair call to take. But will he take that call and if he doesn’t, will the selectors take that call mid-tour? Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar, guys you are on the spot this time,” Chopra added.
Rohit Sharma has scored 31 runs at an average of 6.20 in five innings in BGT 2024-25. He has a top score of 10 and has been dismissed for single digits in his other four innings.
In the same video, Aakash Chopra has opined that Rohit Sharma kept his side interest ahead of the team by opting to open in the Melbourne Test.
“For the first time as a captain, he took a call totally in his interest. It wasn’t a call in the team’s interest. It couldn’t have been in the team’s interest as (KL) Rahul was doing well as an opener.”
“So you should have allowed him to continue. Shubman Gill was playing decently at No. 3. He is your second-highest run-scorer in Tests this year,” he said.
The former India opener highlighted a pattern in Rohit’s dismissals and added that age was not his side.
“We are talking about a pattern for Virat Kohli but Rohit too has a pattern. Rohit’s pattern is that he is getting late on the ball and his feet are not moving properly.”
“It’s different if this happens to you at 25. However, when you go to the other side of 35 and this happens to you, then the knives are out,” Chopra observed.
Aakash Chopra opined that KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal should open with Shubman Gill coming in at No.3 if Rohit Sharma opts out of the Sydney Test and added that Nitish Reddy can bat at No. 6 in such a scenario.
The fifth test of the Australia-India tests will begin on January 03 at Sydney Cricket Ground.
