SYDNEY: When India head coach Gautam Gambhir walked into the press conference room at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday afternoon, it seemed like an opportunity to put a lot of speculation to rest. Instead, by the time, he was done with his media interaction on the eve of the fifth and final Test between India and Australia, he had left them more speculation by not confirming Rohit Sharma’s place in the playing XI.
As things stand, Sharma will not take part in the Sydney Test with Shubman Gill walking into his No. 3 spot after being left out of the Boxing Day Test. Sharma has been out of form, scoring just 31 runs in six innings at a 6.2 average on this tour. With him losing two of the three Tests he captained, pressure was mounting on the captain.
In the lead-up to the Sydney Test, there had been multiple reports and speculations about tension building within the Indian camp after the loss in Melbourne. India had conceded a lead after having a good chance at drawing the match heading into the final session on day five. Since then, Gambhir has reportedly spoken sternly with the team and players. Inevitably, as the press pack waited for the interaction with the Indian contingent, there were questions and murmurs doing rounds on who’s going to come and whether Sharma would be dropped. As Gambhir, who had not addressed the media since landing in Australia walked in, it seemed like there would be answers for a lot of questions ahead of what is a must-win game for India.
However, from the first question, one could see that that wasn’t going to be the case. When asked if everything is under control within the team, Gambhir said it is. Then came the questions on this conversation with players. Gambhir said that what happens in the dressing room stays there. “Those are reports, not truth,” said Gambhir before adding, “I don't think I need to answer to any reports to be honest. There are some honest words, that's all I can say.”
If all this was not enough, when he was directly asked whether Sharma would be playing on Friday, all Gambhir had to say was: “We will have a look at the wicket and probably announce our playing eleven tomorrow.” He was pressed again and Gambhir said his answer remains the same. Whatever he said after didn’t really seem that important. Rather than ending the speculations Gambhir ended up adding fuel to fire.
What followed after only reaffirmed the speculations. Gambhir was having a long chat with Jasprit Bumrah just outside the SCG dressing room while the team and Sharma were warming up in the middle. Once it was all done, the slip cordon looked different with Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Nitish Reddy and Yashasvi Jaiswal standing alongside Rishabh Pant. Amidst all this, Gill, who was left out of the Boxing Day Test, was patted on the back by Gambhir before having what seemed like a congratulatory handshake with Bumrah. He then went on to train for slip catch against spinners.
Sharma, after warming up, left for the dressing room while the rest hit the nets. Even as Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja were batting in outdoor nets, Sharma could be seen talking to Washington Sundar, who seems likely to miss out on Friday. A little while later, he was having a prolonged chat with Bumrah and Gill. Even as they and the rest of the team were having a hit in the outdoor nets, Sharma was nowhere to be seen. It was only after some time he walked in without his kit, and was standing and having a chat with team analyst and Bumrah. Virat Kohli, on the other hand, was having a chat with chief selector Ajit Agarkar.
Meanwhile, the regular top seven and Dhruv Jurel had an intense hit in the nets. After almost an hour, Sharma left for the dressing room only to come back all padded up. He batted for a while with Tanush Kotiyan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and Reddy but took only throw-downs and did not face any bowlers. It went on for about half an hour before Sharma left the nets with Bumrah and Agarkar. After that Jurel once again came in and had another brief stint in the nets.
It was about 6.50 PM. The team was all but done with their training and were getting ready to leave. In one corner of the SCG dugout were Sharma and Bumrah sitting together while Gambhir was standing next to them. The captain, vice-captain and head coach had a discussion that went on for a little over five minutes. Shortly after they picked up their bags and left.
Now, Gambhir has already confirmed that Akash Deep is ruled out due to back spasm and the only, and perhaps, the biggest question of the day was whether Sharma will play or not.
At this point, it should be a surprise if he does. One of the top Test openers in the world between 2019-2024, Sharma was India’s best top-order batter in that phase. Since taking over captaincy, he led India to the 2023 World Test Championship final, and drew series in South Africa while beating England and Australia at home. Things went downhill from the 0-3 loss against New Zealand at home and since then, Sharma has not been able to turn things around both with the bat and in terms of results for the team. At 37, he will be 38 when India play their next Test after Sydney, one has to wait and see whether he would want to continue in the longer format going forward.
For now, it seems like Bumrah will be back at the helm in Sydney, trying to help India draw the series, retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and have a chance at qualifying for the World Test Championship final.
