India captain Rohit Sharma, for the first time in his captaincy career, prioritised himself over the best interests of the team, according to Aakash Chopra. Reflecting on India’s team changes during their defeat to Australia in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Chopra provided a strong critique of Rohit’s decision to return to the top of the batting order in Melbourne.
Rohit moved himself down to the middle order during the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests to allow KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal to continue their opening partnership. Rohit had missed the first Test of the series in Perth, where Rahul and Jaiswal stitched a match-winning partnership of 201 runs in the third innings. However, Rohit struggled at No. 6, enduring multiple failures over the two Tests.
In Melbourne, Rohit returned to the top of the order, and India left out Shubman Gill from the XI—a decision that surprised many pundits and fans. India opted for three all-rounders in their XI but were unable to save the Test match. They collapsed to 155 all out in the final innings of the fourth Test, failing to survive the last day.
Rohit flopped again, managing 3 and 9 across the two innings of the Test match.
“For the first time in his career, he has taken a call for himself. In the past, calls have been taken for him. MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli took calls for him to move him from middle-order to opener. Dhoni did in ODIs, Virat did in Tests because they wanted Rohit to fire,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube show.
“For the first time, captain Rohit took a call and it was totally in his interests. It was not in the team’s interests. Let’s be very honest. It can’t be in the team’s interests because Rahul was opening very well. Shubman Gill did well in 2023, he is the second-highest run-scorer. He has played in tough situations also. He was looking good in Adelaide too. But, he had to be dropped from the team.
“All this is because Rohit thought about himself, not in the best interests of the team. For the first time in his captaincy career. It didn’t turn out fine. India were not able to draw,” he added.
“In the team’s interest, will he sit out of the Sydney Test? I am not saying retirement, but dropping himself for the Sydney Test, saying ‘I am not able to contribute. Okay, let Rahul open the batting, let Shubman Gill bat at No. 3 and let’s play Nitish at No. 6’. It will be a fair call to take. But, will he take it? If he doesn’t take it, I will tell you why cricketers don’t take such calls. Every cricketer believes, the entire life must have taught him/her one thing: we can bounce back. We can turn it around. Maybe Rohit Sharma is thinking like that,” he added.
“Will the selectors take that call mid-tour? Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar, guys, you are on the spot this time,” he added.
Rohit Sharma began 2024 with a productive series against England at home. He then played a key role with the bat in India’s T20 World Cup triumph. However, his form has deserted him in the Test season. The captain has become a walking wicket, managing just 164 runs in eight Tests at an average of 10.
