Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif was shocked when captain Rohit Sharma was dropped for the final match of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He believes the batter was most needed in the Test in Sydney.
Rohit Sharma took a shocking decision ahead of the final match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The captain of the Indian national cricket team left the team for the last match and handed over the leadership to Jasprit Bumrah, with Shubman Gill replacing him as the batsman.
Rohit did not score in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy until the Sydney Test, amassing just 31 runs. However, the drop in the last match did not work out so well as India lost the match by 6 wickets to lose the series 3-1.
I don’t think Rohit should play in Tests anymore as he was most needed in Sydney Test match – Mohammad Kaif
Mohammad Kaif was not impressed with the way Rohit went down, saying he should not be playing Tests now. He added that the Indian captain should have led from the front and helped his team tie the game. Speaking in a video posted on his Twitter account, he said:
“I don’t think Rohit should play in Tests anymore because he was most needed in the Sydney Test match, I said he should have played. That would be the right call. He was to form a partnership with Jaiswal and lead [the team] to a 2-2 tie [in the series]. [He should’ve] He took the lead and after 2-2 he should have returned with honor, but he wasted it by not playing. He felt that he was a team man, called the in-form batsman Shubman Gill and said, ‘I will not play’.”
Mohammad Kaif pointed out that Rohit Sharma’s absence was felt when Jasprit Bumrah got injured. He added:
“You see, his absence was felt when Bumrah got injured in the second innings. Rohit Sharma, as captain, would have been there [if he had played]. He was with the team, he knows Akash Deep, Siraj, Jadeja or Prasidh Krishna are playing and Rohit traveled with all of them. So your main leader, nobody was there at the crucial moment, neither Bumrah nor Rohit Sharma.”
Rohit Sharma took the wrong decision to quit – Mohammad Kaif
Mohammad Kaif was not convinced with Virat Kohli leading the team in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. He said the forward had not been captain for the past few years and had no idea about the team. He emphasized:
“The one who [Virat Kohli] not leading for the last few years, leading the team, asking Siraj and Jadeja ‘What are you going to do? Tell me.’ Prasidh Krishna played his first match, his length was not right. Who supports your young bowlers where was the pressure? There was no one. So, I said that Rohit Sharma took the wrong decision to leave.”
He should have played, it doesn’t matter if he failed to score runs – Mohammad Kaif on Rohit Sharma
Kaif concluded that Rohit Sharma, regardless of the result, should have played the last match as he was in good form. He felt that Rohit has to play a big role in Sydney but he left. He elaborated:
“He should have played, it doesn’t matter if he missed runs. Nobody scored runs. Not Kohli, not Khawaja, not Labuschagne [who was scoring big]. Smith’s form came too late, there were no high-scoring games.”
“Everybody was struggling for runs. KL Rahul was scoring at the start but he too failed later on, scoring 100 or 0 at times. So nobody was scoring runs. As a leader, Rohit Sharma had a big role in that Test just to be out with the team in charge.”
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What is the way forward for Team India?#BGT #CricketwithKaif11 pic.twitter.com/7FUrwgFwIm— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) January 8, 2025
