SYDNEY: India Test head coach Gautam Gambhir refuses Rohit Sharma’s selection for the final Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test match at the SCG during a press conference the media expected the captain to attend.
The Indian coach didn’t leave any messages for the reporters on the eve of the final Test match, with Rohit struggling with the bat and his team losing the previous two matches.
As a responsibility, Rohit has always appeared for the pre-match press conference, however this time Gambhir showed up alone.
“Everything is fine with Rohit and I don’t think it’s anything traditional (fronting up for the pre-match presser),” Gambhir said.
“The head coach is here and that should be good enough.
“We are going to have a look at the wicket and finalise it tomorrow.”
When asked again by a reporter on whether Rohit would play in the Final test, Gambhir said, “I just said that we’re going to have a look at the wicket and announce a playing XI tomorrow. The answer remains the same.”
Rohit Sharma didn’t play the first test of the series in Perth, and since his return from the second test, he has only made 31 runs at an average of just 6.20.
While being a winning captain at the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, and likely to captain in the upcoming Champions Trophy, Rohit is going to retire from test format after the last test of Border Gavaskar Trophy.
India needs to win the last match of the BGT to keep their chances alive for the World Test Championship Final and to tie the series.
Gambhir did state that Akash Deep won’t be able to play the final test as he is having a back injury, though he didn’t mention a replacement.
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