Sydney,jan 2
Battered by extra bounce and seam movement along with scathing criticism of his leadership, India skipper Rohit Sharma’s career as a Test cricketer seems headed for a dispiriting climax amid swirling speculation that he is set to be dropped from the fifth and final Test against Australia starting here on Friday.Rohit, just like in Melbourne, was last among recognised batters to enter the nets but this was after head coach Gautam Gambhir refused to confirm whether the out-of-form skipper will be at the toss on Friday morning.”We will take a call on the playing XI after looking at the pitch,” Gambhir gave a cryptic reply to a straight query on whether Rohit will play.If it happens, Rohit will become the first Indian captain to be dropped on account of poor form and he would have none to blame except for the abysmal return of 31 runs from five innings.Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who has been the team’s top performer with an astonishing 30 wickets in four outings at a sub-20 average, will take over the leadership role in that scenario. It was under Bumrah’s captaincy that India won its only Test on the tour so far — the lung-opener in Perth.Where would that leave Rohit?
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Anil Kumble walked into Test retirements mid-series as their bodies could no longer take the rigours of the longest format.However, in Rohit’s case, he will be dropped on the basis of form after Gambhir made it clear that performance is the only thing that would keep a player in the dressing room helmed by him.If he doesn’t come out for toss on Friday, it would be safe to conclude that Rohit, the Test batter, played his last knock at the MCG earlier this week where he looked completely out of place on a good track.While Gambhir didn’t spell out the playing eleven, there were enough indications that India might bring back Shubman Gill at number three.”Indian cricket’s transition is in safe hands as long as there are honest people in the dressing room. Only criterion to be in that dressing room is performance,” Gambhir said at the pre-match press conference. Trailing 1-2, a win for Australia will seal their place in the final at the Lord’s against South Africa.
