‘The captain does not opt out’: India roasted over reason for Rohit Sharma bombshell

The cricket world couldn’t quite believe India’s explanation after their captain was left out for the must win, final Test of the summer.

It’s safe to say Jasprit Bumrah’s explanation that Indian captain Rohit Sharma “opted to rest” for the fifth Test against Australia hasn’t passed the pub test.

In the 24 hours leading up to the New Year’s Test in Sydney, speculation had been mounting the Indian skipper wouldn’t play in the fifth and final Test of the summer.

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Indian coach Gautam Gambhir gave nothing away at a press conference on the eve of the Test and Rohit was noticeably absent from the slips cordon during a training session on Thursday.

The veteran opener’s omission was confirmed when superstar bowler Bumrah fronted up in the captain’s blazer for the toss.

After Bumrah won the toss and elected to bat, he confirmed Rohit would be replaced by Shubman Gill and Akash Deep was making way for Prasidh Krishna.

“Our captain has shown leadership, he’s opted to rest in this game,” he said.

“That shows there’s a lot of unity in this team. There’s no selfishness. Whatever is in the teams best interest we are looking to do that.”

Rohit Sharma isn't playing the fifth Test.

Adam Gilchrist said on Fox Cricket: “I’m not an investigative journalist but the research and the intel I have that came right from the horses mouth was it was 100 per cent his decision from Rohit Sharma.”

Mark Waugh added: “I think it was the right call for Sharma. He just looked totally out of form. You know it too, as a player.

“He’s not getting any younger. It’s always a big decision. When you’re at that age, you don’t often make a comeback if you’re dropped at that stage.”

That a Test captain “opted to rest” for a must win match seems difficult to believe.

The explanation has shades “hamstring awareness” or a “soft drop” in footy codes when a player is omitted but doesn’t return to the side the following week.

The “opted to rest” explanation became an instant meme on social media.

Australia when they hear Rohit Sharma has “opted to rest” when they said Mitch Marsh was dropped, like suckers pic.twitter.com/lJ4IdElXQJ

— Oliver Caffrey (@ollycaffrey) January 2, 2025

For what it's worth, I have opted out of the final of the 100m sprint at the 2028 Olympics. #AUSvIND

— Scott Bailey (@ScottBaileyAAP) January 2, 2025

I’d like everyone to know I’ve been opting to rest from the Australian Test side for the last decade or so https://t.co/JJZXYue3O2

— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) January 2, 2025

I have also "opted to rest" from the New Year's Test, just for the avoidance of any doubt. #AUSvIND

— Lachlan McKirdy (@LMcKirdy7) January 2, 2025

Ex-Australian captain Mark Taylor said on Triple M: “The captain of a country does not opt out of a final deciding Test match of a series.

“There’s no doubt he’s been dropped and I don’t know why they don’t just say he’s been dropped.

“It doesn’t mean he’s been dropped forever. It means he’s missing this Test match because he’s been out of form. That’s not a crime. That’s professional sport.”

Rohit has produced the worst batting average by a touring captain in Australia in history (minimum five matches), with the star batter registering scores of 3, 6, 10, 3 and 9.

He missed the first Test to be at the birth of his child, with India winning the series opener in Perth under Bumrah’s captaincy.

Rohit wasn’t listed on the team sheet as a reserve and he could retire as soon as after the SCG Test.

Pat Cummins and Jasprit Bumrah at the toss. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Jodie Haydon with captains Pat Cummins and Rohit Sharma at Kirribilli House. Picture: Thomas Lisson

Rohit has played 67 Tests, scoring 12 centuries at an average of 40.57.

The 37-year-old replaced Virat Kohli as Test captain in 2022, but if his Test career is over, Rohit will ultimately be remembered most for his white ball exploits that saw him score 31 ODI hundreds and win two T20 World Cups 17 years apart.

Former Indian coach Ravi Shastri told news.com.au earlier in the summer the team was going through a period of transition following the mid series retirement of legendary offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

Veteran batters Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara weren’t picked for this tour, while the long-term futures of Rohit, Virat Kohli and gun all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja are up in the air.

“In the batting department, I can see a few new faces in there in a year or two,” Shastri said.

“(Yashavi) Jaiswal is young, Shubman Gill is pretty young, Rishabh Pant is still very young. There are quite a few other players in the mix who could come in pretty soon.”

If India don’t qualify for the World Test Championship Final, their next Test is a five-match series against England in June-July, before a pair of two-Test series against the West Indies and South Africa at home later in the year.

Despite the apparent turmoil inside the Indian camp, the tourists can still retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy with a win or a draw in Sydney.

Australia have not held the Border Gavaskar Trophy since 2014-15 but are daring to dream of ending that drought after a stirring win at the MCG in the Boxing Day Test to take a 2-1 series lead.

Australia have not lost a Test at the SCG since 2011 when they suffered a home Ashes defeat to England.

In the other dressing room, Aussie captain Pat Cummins confirmed Mitch Marsh had been replaced by Tasmanian debutant Beau Webster. Cummins said he would have also chosen to bat had he won the toss.