India captain Rohit Sharma appears to be on the verge of being dropped for the fifth Test as he did not take part in training as coach Gautam Gambhir refused to guarantee his place in the team.
Since India needed a win over Australia in Sydney to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rohit did not bat in training on the eve of the match or take part in fielding practice.
Desperately out of form and without a score above 10 in any of his five innings in this series, Rohit’s career now looks in jeopardy at 37 and without further tests for five months.
India coach Gambhir confirmed to the media on Thursday that quick Akash Deep would miss Friday’s Test with a back injury, in a guaranteed move for Sydney.
But when asked directly if captain Rohit would play, Gambhir refused to answer directly.
“We will take a look at the wicket and announce our XI tomorrow,” Gambhir said.
India captain Rohit Sharma (right) could miss the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar series this week.
Coach Gautam Gambhir (pictured) refused to guarantee his place in the team.
Sharma has struggled to get runs during this summer’s series as he failed to register a score above 10 and amassed just 31 runs in five innings.
Asked again if he could guarantee the starting job, Gambhir replied: “The answer remains the same.”
Gambhir’s appearance at the pre-match press conference also attracted attention as the captains of each team used to be in front of the media.
However, India previously broke that tradition this summer when Shubman Gill faced the media the day before the Gabba Test.
Gambhir also spoke in place of Rohit at Wednesday night’s Prime Minister’s event at Kirribilli House.
“Everything is fine with Rohit, I don’t think it is anything traditional (for him to speak today),” Gambhir said.
“The head coach is here, that should be enough.”
Rohit subsequently warmed up with his teammates but did not take part in slip cordon practice on Thursday, while Gill spent time playing in Gully after not playing in Melbourne.
Rohit did not manage a hit alongside the other top players in the nets, but instead watched while wearing a hoodie and shorts at the back of the nets.
India met Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on New Year’s Day, and Sharma mysteriously opted not to speak at the event.
Akash Deep (pictured) will miss Friday’s Test with a back injury, in a guaranteed move for Sydney
Only when the players were done did Rohit pull off a symbolic knock, facing tackles at the end of India’s session.
If Rohit fails, Gill is expected to come into the XI with Jasprit Bumrah taking over as captain.
There were also question marks over Rishabh Pant’s place after his two nasty dismissals at the MCG, including the unnecessary shot that started the rot in the second innings.
Indian megastar Kohli is also under pressure, his unbeaten 100 in the second innings in Perth seems like an eternity ago as he posts scores of 5, 7, 11, 3, 36 and 5 for the series.
But both trained normally on Thursday.
Gambhir also took aim at suggestions that he had let out his fury at the Indian players after their defeat on the final day in Melbourne.
According to a report in the Indian Express, Gambhir told the players that he had “had enough,” unhappy with them playing their own game and not the team’s.
“They were just reports, that’s not the truth,” Gambhir said.
Gambhir (right) dismisses accusations that factions appeared among his team
And I don’t think I need to respond to reports.
‘There were some honest words, and honesty is very important if you want to move forward and achieve great things.
‘What matters is the team’s ideology first. It’s a team sport and you have to play what the team needs you to do.
‘People can play their natural game, but in a team sport only individuals contribute. “If you need to play a certain way, I think you have to do it.”