Rohit Sharma: India captain sat out final Test against Australia in Sydney after poor form | Cricket news

India captain Rohit Sharma is sitting out the final Test against Australia in Sydney after a poor run of form with the bat.

The 37-year-old has scored just 31 runs in five innings in the series at an average of 6.20, while his average in the last eight games is a miserable 10.93, with the best of 23 against Bangladesh in September.

Stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah revealed that Rohit had decided to “rest”, saying after winning the toss and electing to bat: “Our captain has shown leadership.

“It shows there’s a lot of unity on this team. There’s no selfishness. Whatever’s in the best interest of the team, that’s what we want.”

Rumors are rife that Rohit may announce his retirement from Test cricket, although he has yet to speak publicly about it.

India are 2-1 down and need a win at the SCG to level the series and stay in contention to meet South Africa in the World Test Cup final at Lord’s in June.

Australia’s victory will follow Pat Cummins’ side playing the Proteas.

India won the first Test in Perth by 295 runs, with Bumrah in charge while Rohit was on paternity leave, but then lost the second Test in Adelaide by 10 wickets before a rain-affected draw in Brisbane was followed by Australia’s 184 win running in Melbourne.

Rohit has captained India in 24 Tests since succeeding Virat Kohli in the role in 2022, winning 12, losing nine and drawing three.

The right-hander announced his retirement from international T20 cricket after India won the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean in June after defeating South Africa in the final on seven occasions.

Indian opener Ravichandan Ashwin has retired from all international cricket after the third Test against Australia in Brisbane.