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On Friday, January 3, India and Australia kicked off the fifth and final Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in Sydney. In surprising turn of events, Rohit Sharma became the first Indian captain to drop mid-way through an international series, with Shubman Gill replacing him in the side and Jasprit Bumrah serving as the stand-in captain.
Rohit Sharma’s decision to rest himself became a topic of discussion among the fans and pundits alike with several opining that he had played his final Test in Melbourne. Former India cricketer and legend Sunil Gavaskar also opined the same as he tried to make sense with Rohit’s omission from the India XI.
The Melbourne Test would be Rohit Sharma's last game: Sunil Gavaskar
Speaking at lunch on Day 1 of the fifth Test in Sydney, Gavaskar opined that Rohit played his final Test in Melbourne last week. He also added that India felt of not reaching the World Test Championship Final and thus took this decision. "Well, I think what it probably means is that India don't qualify for the World Test Championship final. To me, it looks that the Melbourne Test would be Rohit Sharma's last game,” Gavaskar said while speaking on Star Sports.
“The new cycle of the World Test Championship will start from the England series, so they will look to have somebody who will be available for 2027 final. Whether India gets to the final or not is another matter, but I think that's what the selection committee will do. Therefore maybe we've probably seen Rohit Sharma for the last time in Test cricket," he added.
The former Indian cricketer also argued that the Chairman of the selection committee, Ajit Agarkar had a role to play behind this decision, adding, "At the end of the day he's also part of the selection committee. What happens in Indian cricket is there is a selection committee which chooses the squad to go to travel overseas.” “Then when you come overseas, the captain, the coach, and I think if there's one selector, they generally form the selection committee. I believe the chairman of the selection committee, Ajit Agarar here in town, so he would have been part of the call that was taken. Maybe some of the senior players in the team would have been asked," Gavaskar added.
