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Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma has firmly denied rumors suggesting his imminent retirement. His comments followed his decision to opt out of the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Sydney. However, Rohit clarified that he had “stood down” from the match, rather than retiring.
Speaking to Star Sports, the Indian captain elaborated on his decision to sit out the match, explaining that he had discussed his situation with head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar. He stated that his form had been a concern, and with the team needing players in peak form, it was important to step aside for the benefit of the team.
“I had a conversation with the coach and selectors, and we agreed that I’ve been struggling to score runs. You can’t keep carrying players who aren’t in form for too long. I thought it was my responsibility to inform them about my situation, and they were understanding. They said, ‘You’ve been playing for a long time; you take the call.’ It wasn’t an easy decision, but I felt it was the right one for the team’s progress,” he explained.
Rohit further clarified that this was not a retirement decision, nor was he stepping down from his captaincy. “I’m not retiring. I’m just stepping aside from this Test because I’m not scoring enough runs. There’s no guarantee I won’t score runs in a couple of months or even five months down the line, but I have to be realistic about the situation,” he said.
The India squad for the match includes Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Mohammed Siraj, Sarfaraz Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar, and Abhimanyu Easwaran.
Australia’s lineup features Pat Cummins (C), Alex Carey (WK), Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, and Scott Boland.
