Rohit Sharma, IND vs AUS Sydney Test: 29 June 2024…Barbados ground…On this date, the Indian team had created history under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma. Team India ended the 11-year long ICC title drought by defeating South Africa by 7 runs in the final of T20 World Cup 2024.
Rohit became a hero by winning the World Cup. Earlier, under his captaincy, the Indian team had also reached the final of the ODI World Cup 2023 held on home ground. When Rohit won the T20 World Cup, the Indian team was also on top in the race for the final of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC).
That means, this was the time when captain Rohit was a superhit and was preparing to win the second ICC title (WTC) for the Indian team. Rohit was also a big hit in terms of form. He was the second top scorer in the T20 World Cup. Rohit scored 257 runs in 8 matches. When the Indian team returned home after winning the T20 World Cup, they were welcomed with great pomp.
A procession was taken out in Mumbai. The fans gave a lot of love to captain Rohit and the team. From here everyone expected that Hitman would also win the ICC World Test Championship for the country under his captaincy. But within 6 months suddenly times changed, circumstances changed! Feelings changed!’ The Indian team is on the verge of being eliminated from the WTC final.
Discussions about captain Rohit’s retirement have also started. Some fans are trolling him and some are sympathizing with him. Actually, this whole series started with the entry of Gautam Gambhir as coach and the defeat of the ODI series against Sri Lanka. India played its only ODI series in Sri Lanka in 2024, losing 2–0. This is where the trouble started with Team India and Captain Rohit.
Although the Indian team defeated Bangladesh 2-0 in the Test series at home, their captaincy also looked irregular and at times it seemed that Bangladesh was being overwhelmed. But somehow the Indian team made a clean sweep. After this the New Zealand team came on India tour which was taken very lightly. Coach Gambhir also gave a big statement. But the situation became such that till now the Indian team, coach and captain could not control themselves.
Under the captaincy of Tom Latham, New Zealand whitewashed Team India 3-0 in the three-match Test series on Indian soil. In this series, captain Rohit scored only 91 runs in 6 innings at a very poor average of 15.16. This is where the chaos begins and the hitmen show no signs of stopping. Currently, the Indian team is on Australia tour, where it is trailing 1-2 in the 5-match Test series.
The fourth match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was held in Melbourne, in which there was talk of captain Rohit’s retirement after the crushing defeat. It was also claimed in many reports that the last test of the series i.e. the fifth test would be the last test of Rohit’s career. Then a day before the Sydney Test it was said that Rohit would not play in this match. He will be dropped from the playing-11.
Now the last i.e. the fifth Test of this series is being played in Sydney. In which Rohit was not selected in the playing-11. Thus, Rohit became the first captain in the history of Indian cricket to be dropped from the Test playing XI midway through the series due to poor form. In this way, 6 months after winning the title of T20 World Cup 2024, the whole situation changed.
‘Look what happened in these 6 months…’ While on one hand Indian captain Rohit was being called a hero, on the other hand he is now being asked to retire. Despite being the captain, he has been dropped from the playing-11. The big thing is that the Indian team is now on the verge of being out of the WTC final. Even after winning the Sydney Test, it is not certain that the Indian team will reach the WTC final.
Talking about records, Rohit Sharma has scored only 31 runs in 5 innings of 3 test matches in this Australia series. His average was also 6.20 which is the lowest of any tail bowler. Whereas fast bowler Akash Deep has scored 38 runs in 3 innings which is more than Rohit. In such a situation, being a fan, one can definitely say that it is wrong to exclude Rohit from the playing-11, but looking at the statistics, this statement can also change.
