Team India skipper Rohit Sharma's name was missing from the playing XI for the fifth and final Test against Australia in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series. There has been a lot of speculation about Rohit Sharma's future in this format, but the veteran opener is not thinking of retiring just yet.
Rohit's poor form has been a concern for the Indian team management. After missing the first Test, he finished sixth in the second match. He recorded scores of 3, 6 and 10 before returning to the top of the rankings. However, he managed just 3 and 9 in the MCG Test, which India lost by 184 runs.
Our captain has shown his leadership – Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah, the team's vice-captain, was seen wearing the captain's jacket during the toss. Bumrah stated that Rohit withdrew from the match. However, Rohit's name was also absent from the list of five reserves for the game. The 38-year-old did not join the team during the national anthem ceremony.
“Our captain showed his leadership and chose to rest in this match. This shows that there is a lot of unity in our team, there is no selfishness, and everything is in the best interest of the team. We are looking forward to doing that,” Bumrah said. In toss.
Team India Playing XI for Border-Gavaskar V Test: Yashavi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Mohammed Siraj
Rohit Sharma Not Thinking of Retirement Yet – Report
There are discussions about whether the Melbourne Test is Rohit Sharma's final appearance. However, Rohit Goglan, a journalist at RevSportz, clarified that Rohit is not currently thinking about retirement. He added that only time would tell if Melbourne was his last Test match.
Rohit Googlelan wrote on
BREAK – Rohit Sharma is not thinking about retiring as of now
Time will tell if Melbourne is his last or not – but for now he's not retiring– Rohit Goglan Rohit Goglan (@rohitgoglan) January 2, 2025
He may pull the plug at the end of this test – Ravi Shastri
Rohit Sharma may retire from Test cricket after the Sydney Test, former India coach Ravi Shastri said. Speaking during the first day's play, Shastri added that Rohit may decide to step down after this match, with no home Test series coming up. He praised Rohit for taking a bold decision.
“It's still a brave call for the captain to say: 'I'm ready to come on the bench for this game,'” Shastri said (via ABC).
“If there was a home season coming up, he might have thought about continuing, but I think he might pull the plug at the end of this Test. He's not getting any younger… It's not that India doesn't have youngsters. There are good players out there,” he added. “Very much in the wings, and it is time to make difficult decisions, but there is a time for everything.”
Read also: ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Virat Kohli-Rohit Sharma future decided