Delhi, January 3, 2025 (Punjab Khabarnama Bureau): Rohit Sharma‘s name mysteriously vanished from India’s official team sheet, which the BCCI shared moments after the toss of the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia at the SCG in Sydney. Jasprit Bumrah, who walked out to toss in place Rohit on Friday morning, said Rohit himself “opted to rest” from the series finale. There was no official word from the BCCI either via a press release or a social media post about Rohit’s absence but the team sheet shared on the official WhatsApp group did not feature Rohit’s name even in the reserve players’ list.
Apart from the XI players that included comeback men Shubman Gill and Prasidh Krishna, the team sheet had the names of all the fit members of India’s official squad except Rohit Sharma. Devudutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and Harshit Rana were all part of the reserve players’ list and rightly so. The only other cricketer not part of the team sheet apart from Rohit was pacer Akash Deep, who was declared injured and unfit to play.
Why Rohit opted out of the Sydney Test
Interestingly, Rohit, who largely avoided open discussion with head coach Gautam Gambhir on the eve of the New Year’s Test, was seen having an animated discussion with the former India opener before the start of play of the Pink Test. Rohit mostly talked in the discussion, which also involved Jasprit Bumrah on the pitch side.
Summary: Rohit Sharma’s name was removed from India’s official squad list after an animated discussion with coach Gautam Gambhir, sparking speculation.