NEW DELHI: India captain Rohit Sharma has revealed that his decision to opt out of the Sydney Test during the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy was not a straightforward one and involved a “disagreement” with team management.
Speaking to former Australia captain Michael Clarke on the Beyond23 Cricket Podcast, Rohit explained that the move to drop himself came after introspection and honest assessment of his form, keeping the team’s best interest in mind.
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Rohit, who managed only 31 runs in five innings as India relinquished the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade, admitted he wasn’t hitting the ball well and didn’t want to occupy a spot at the expense of someone better prepared.
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“In the last Test match in Sydney, I had to be honest with myself. I was not hitting the ball well. And I didn’t want to put myself there only because we had a lot of the other guys who were struggling as well,” Rohit said.
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The final call, however, wasn’t without resistance. “I spoke to the coach and the selector, who was there on the tour. They kind of agreed — not agreed. There was an argument around it,” he revealed, referring to head coach Gautam Gambhir and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar. “You try and put the team first, and just look at what the team wants. Sometimes it may work, sometimes it may not.”
Highlighting the decision to bring back Shubman Gill for the series decider, Rohit added, “We wanted Gill to play. He’s such a good player. He missed out in the previous Test match… I was like, okay, if I’m not hitting the ball well, it’s right now.”
Since assuming the captaincy, Rohit said his leadership philosophy has centered around team-first thinking. “Not just me, I wanted the rest of the guys also to think alike — try and put the team first and not worry too much about ‘my runs, my scores,’” he added.
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