The Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series is on the line and the Indian men's cricket team gets into the fifth and final Test match in Sydney with a dismal record and sans their out of form captain Rohit Sharma at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the venue for the match. In 13 Tests played at the venue so far, India have drawn 7 games, lost 5, and managed to win only one match.
It is learnt that Sharma has opted out and in his absence pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who led India to victory in the series opener, will lead the side.
Sharma informed head coach Gautam Gambhir and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar of his decision and this will most probably mark the end of Sharma's Test career.
Sharma has been struggling for a while in this series, averaging 6.2 and was under pressure to put his whites to rest.
With Sharma ruling himself out, Shubman Gill will return to the playing XI and will take the No 3 slot while Rishabh Pant, despite his inconsistency, will retain his spot in the middle order.
Gambhir chose not to confirm on Sharma's unavailability in the pre-match press conference saying:
Everything is fine with Rohit. We are going to have a look at the wicket and announce the playing XI tomorrow.
India are currently trailing 1-2 in the five-match series. After winning the opening Test in Perth, India lost the Pink-ball game in Adelaide, drew the third Test at Brisbane, and then suffered an 184-run defeat in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne last week.
Though India's lone win at the Sydney Cricket Ground came 47 years ago when a side led by Bishan Singh Bedi defeated Bob Simpson's Australia by an innings and two runs, Gambhir is confident that his team can level the series 2-2.
Extremely, extremely confident. You know, we've got the skill set, we've got the individuals, we've got everything in that dressing room that can win a Test match here. Not only here, but probably go on to do some unbelievable things in the future as well. So extremely confident.
Winning the Sydney Test will be enough for India to take the Border-Gavaskar Trophy back home with them and keep the bragging rights, even though their dream of completing a hat-trick of series wins against Australia failed to fructify.
Gambhir was his usual cocky self about India's batting in the first innings despite the team failing to put up a big total in three out of the four innings so far -- with efforts of 150 at Perth, 180 at Adelaide, 260 at Brisbane and 369 in the first innings at Melbourne.
Gambhir said that their efforts in the last Test proved that things have come around for his team, adding that his boys have failed to fight it out in the middle in their first knocks.
I know we got to fight it out. And that's probably one area where we lagged in this series. And that's the area that's one of the reasons why probably we lack in this series as well. But again, I think we had a really decent first inning in Melbourne. Hopefully, we can take confidence from that and try and get it to Sydney.
Gambhir refused to comment anything on skipper Sharma's criticism of wicketkeeper Pant, on twice playing a rash shot and getting out after making a good start in his knock. Pant has played his natural aggressive shots, ending his blossoming partnerships and Sharma felt he should play according to the situation and not go about playing his natural game.
Honesty, I don't want to talk about individuals. I think everyone knows where they are. And in a team sport, it's only the team that matters. You expect players to do what the team needs you to do, whether they go to bat sessions, whether they go to be attacking because that is all that matters in the team sport.
Gambhir denied reports that he has taken the team to task after the Melbourne Test defeat and spoken some "harsh words" that have resulted in disquiet in the squad.
"Those are just reports. That's not the truth and I don't think so, I need to respond to any reports, to be honest. And there are some honest words. That's all I can say. And honesty is very important. Honesty is extremely important if you want to probably go on and achieve something great," felt Gambhir, whose job will also be on the line if India loses the BGT series after the team had suffered a humiliating 0-3 whitewash in the home series with New Zealand before the Australia tour.
Gambhir said the team will be undergoing a transition phase, which is a natural thing, with senior players going out and youngsters coming in. He said it will be a natural process and he will not be forcing that by bringing in youngsters at will.
I'll tell you one thing, I think Indian cricket will always be in safe hands till the time you've got honest people sitting in that dressing room and honesty is the most important thing for any transition and it is not about phasing out senior players or getting the youngsters in. Ultimately, the only thing that can keep you in that dressing room is performance and it is (applicable) for all of us, not only from the players, for the coaches as well. And I said that the kind of talent there is in Indian cricket, I think we will always be in safe hands.
Yes, there will be times when we might not get the results. There will be times when we will have to be patient and more importantly, I think rather than only criticising the young players, I think we got to give them time to develop as well. They will end up becoming world-class players as well and that is what is important and it is a role of not only the support staff but you people as well. How you can probably not only criticise them but try and help them out as well.
