Rohit’s captaincy cliffhanger finale to Indian cricket soap opera

Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma all stopped and posed for selfies with Indian media as they left the SCG on Thursday afternoon.

This scene summed up how the fortunes of India’s senior players have become the biggest soap opera of the summer – a saga the touring team’s combative coach Gautam Gambhir has turned into a cliffhanger by refusing to confirm who will captain the team in the fifth Test.

A credible report out of India on Thursday night suggested that Rohit would be “rested” for the SCG, with Bumrah captain, KL Rahul opening and Shubman Gill returning at number three in the batting order.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma (left) with Jasprit Bumrah.Credit: AP

Rohit’s returns have been abominable this series, and Australia have dominated India virtually from the moment he chose to bat first in the Adelaide Test. Vice captain Bumrah has been the outstanding player on either side, and captained India with real skill in the opening Test in Perth.

Kohli, meanwhile, is the former captain and still the team’s biggest star. He has been floating around between the other two leaders, struggling to recover his best batting touch but throwing his weight around in the field and – if reports out of India are to be believed – inside the dressing room.

Either side of India’s final training session Kohli could be seen sitting alone in the viewing area of the dressing room, gazing out at the SCG where the fate of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be decided. It was one of many sights made heavier with meaning due to Gambhir’s outspoken turn at the press conference microphone.

It is an extraordinary departure from convention for a team to be unable to name the identity of their captain less than 24 hours before a Test. Gambhir confirmed Akash Deep would miss the fifth Test with a back problem, but when pressed on Rohit’s place in the side, would not confirm the XI.

Before Gambhir spoke publicly for the first time all tour, having also spoken instead of Rohit at the prime minister’s reception on New Year’s Day, he held a long discussion with Bumrah on the boundary’s edge at the SCG.

Bumrah and Gambhir then took a close look at a well-grassed SCG pitch, before later being joined by Rohit in the middle of the ground. There have been reports of major infighting within the Indian camp, including a heated address to the team by Gambhir after their dramatic MCG defeat.

“They’re just reports – that’s not the truth. I don’t think I need to answer to any reports,” Gambhir snapped when asked about suggestions of unrest. “There were honest words, that’s all I can say, and honesty is very important. Honesty is extremely important if you want to go on and achieve some great things.

“Indian cricket will always be in safe hands while we’ve got honest people sitting in that room. Honesty is the most important thing for any transition. It is not about phasing out senior players or getting the youngsters in. The only thing that can keep you in that dressing room is the performance, and it starts from all of us.”

Rishabh Pant of India looks dejected after being dismissed by Scott Boland at the MCG on Saturday.Credit: Getty Images

One sore point for many observers of the MCG Test, not least Sunil Gavaskar, were the dismissals of Rishabh Pant to a pair of aggressive shots when India may have been better-served by a more considered approach.

Gambhir refused to speak directly about Rishabh, but when asked about the “natural tendency” of some players to go on the attack, he emphasised the need for Test match players to put the team first and play the situation. It was the first time Gambhir had spoken since lashing out at Ricky Ponting when the team departed for Australia.

“There is only one tendency and only one discussion. It’s the team first and it’s the team first ideology that matters,” Gambhir said. “It’s a team sport, and you’ve got to play what the team needs you to do. People can play their natural game, but still in a team sport, individuals only contribute.

“In the team, if you need to play in a certain way, I think you’ve got to do it. You have to expect players to do what the team needs you to do. Whether you’ve got to bat sessions, whether they’ve got to be attacking, because that’s all that matters in a team sport.”

While Bumrah holds universal respect in the Indian side, the presence and role of Virat Kohli has also been the cause of some conjecture. He has been an increasingly vocal presence on the field during the series, often appearing to direct field placings, although he has struggled outside off stump with the bat.

Wily spinner Ravichandran Ashwin retired after the Brisbane Test match, a call that Rohit said had been delayed because he prevailed upon Ashwin to make himself available for the pink ball Test in Adelaide.

Gambhir spoke ardently of managing a transition for the team, pointing to the impressive signs shown by the likes of Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Deep.

Shane Watson, who was once elbowed by Gambhir during a Test match, said the balance between team and individual plans had become more fraught in the Twenty20 age.

“A number of the shots that players do take on now certainly weren’t in my shot vocabulary at all,” Watson said. “Thinking you could play a reverse sweep or a switch hit to fast bowling was something that I never would’ve contemplated.

“I know if I did when Ricky Ponting was captain or Michael Clarke was captain I wouldn’t have been welcomed back into the dressing room. But it can be incredibly effective and has been for these batters.

“Because it is high risk and it is premeditated, that’s when coaches, teammates but also the media will come down pretty hard, because it doesn’t look great at that moment.”

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