SYDNEY: Former India coach Ravi Shastri said Friday he expected skipper Rohit Sharma to “pull the plug” on his red-ball career after being left out of the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney.
The 37-year-old opener has had a poor series and the writing was on the wall when he failed to show up for India’s pre-match press conference.
Coach Gautam Gambhir instead fronted the media on Thursday and declined to throw his support behind him.
Stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah insisted at the coin toss Friday that Rohit had “opted to rest” for the good of the team rather than being forced out.
Shastri believes Rohit jumped rather than was pushed but suspects it is the end of his 67-Test career.
“It still is a brave call for a captain to own up and say, ‘I’m prepared to take the bench in this game,’” Shastri said while commentating on Fox Sports.
“If there was a home season coming up he might’ve thought of carrying on, but I think he might just pull the plug at the end of this Test.
“It’s not that India don’t have youngsters. There are very, very good players in the wings and it’s time to build.
“Tough decisions, but there is a time for everything.”
‘Shown his leadership’
Rohit quit T20 international cricket last year after lifting the World Cup, but is yet to call time on his ODI career.
He missed the first Test in Perth for the birth of his second child and has not looked fully engaged since, failing to get past 10 runs in any of his five innings.
India all out for 185 in fifth Australia Test
His recent form comes on the back of a similarly poor return during India’s 3-0 home series loss to New Zealand during October-November.
“Our captain has shown his leadership, he’s opted to rest in this game,” Bumrah said at the toss.
“So that shows there’s a lot of unity in our team, there’s no selfishness, whatever is in the team’s best interest, we are looking to do that.”
Should Rohit call it quits, it would be the second retirement of the tour with off-spinning great Ravichandran Ashwin heading home after the third Test at the Gabba.
Ashwin was not selected for Brisbane, which appeared to be the final straw for the 38-year-old.
Former batsman Sanjay Manjrekar praised Rohit, saying he was “doing what is right for the team”.
It was “not (an) easy decision to make at this stage of his career”, veteran Indian cricket journalist Ayaz Memon wrote on social media, but said Rohit had “put team interest ahead of his own”.
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