Gautam Gambhir turns down request to ‘allow Rohit Sharma to play in Sydney and retire’

While a media report earlier in the evening revealed that it was Rohit who “informed coach Gautam Gambhir and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar of his decision to opt out,” with the two former cricketers agreeing to the call, a fresh report by the news agency PTI hinted that it was rather Gambhir’s call to drop the 37-year-old with the latter prioritising a win in Sydney, which could not only help India retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but also keep alive their bleak chances of making the World Test Championship final for the third straight time.

The report said that Gambhir was requested by “an influential cricket administrator, who commands a lot of respect in the BCCI” to “allow Rohit to play the Sydney game and bow out from the Test arena.” However, the head coach rejected the plea to ensure India wins in Sydney and remains in the hunt for a place in the WTC final.

What did Gambhir say on Rohit in pre-match presser?

In a rather tense press conference in Sydney ahead of the series decider, Gambhir, who replaced Rohit for the scheduled media event, remained cagey on the Indian captain’s place in the playing XI for the last match.

When asked why Rohit did not attend the presser, the former India cricketer said: “Everything is fine with Rohit. The head coach is there. That should be fine. That should be good enough. We’re going to have a look at the wicket and finalise (the starting XI) tomorrow.”

Pressed on whether Rohit would make the XI in Sydney, Gambhir said: “I just said that we’re going to have a look at the wicket and announce a playing 11 tomorrow. The answer remains the same.”

Although Rohit was present at the nets on Thursday, the speculations seemed a little real after the 37-year-old did not feature in the slip cordons as India had a fielding drill at the SCG.