NEW DELHI: India skipper Rohit Sharma has been dropped from the final Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test which starts from January 3 in Sydney.
Amid a woeful run with the bat, the tough call on Rohit has been taken by the team management, as reported by TimesofIndia.com, and young Shubman Gill, in all likeliness, will replace the India captain in the playing XI for the Pink Test.
With just 31 runs in five innings in the ongoing BGT, Rohit averaged a horrendous 6.20 and was really struggling with the bat.
But Rohit’s struggle has not only been limited to his outings Down Under.
In the previous India vs New Zealand series at home, Rohit performed terribly as well, scoring a mere 91 runs in three Tests.
Amid Rohit’s run rut, the team too struggled as India suffered an unprecedented 0-3 whitewash against the BlackCaps. In the BGT as well, India currently trails 2-1.
Throughout India’s recent poor showings, Rohit maintained that India batters performed poorly. But recently Rohit has also taken personal responsibility, saying he has indeed under-performed with the bat.
Here’s a look at what Rohit has said recently in his pressers, starting with the New Zealand series:
Rohit after Bengaluru loss to NZ
“I am hurting a little bit because I made that call (on wrongly accessing the pitch). We found ourselves in a situation where we got bowled out for 46 runs. As a captain, it definitely hurts to see that number.
“Though in 365 days, you will make two or three bad calls. That is absolutely fine, I guess.”
“The challenge that was thrown at us, we didn’t respond well. Sometimes you make the right call, sometimes you don’t. I was on the other side of it this time around,”
“It was a bad day for us. But we have played many such matches before.”
Rohit after Pune defeat
“I do not doubt anyone’s ability. I won’t do much postmortem of this, but batters must come with their plans and trust on the plans like New Zealand batters showed.
“It’s disappointing. It’s not what we expected. We got to give credit to New Zealand as they played better than us. We failed to respond to those challenges.
“I didn’t think we batted well enough to get runs on the board. You’ve got to pick 20 wickets to win, yes, but batters have to put runs on the board.
Rohit after series whitewash against the Kiwis
“Something like this will be a very low point of my career and I take full responsibility for it.
“Yes absolutely (bitter pill to swallow). Losing a series, a Test match, is never easy… something that is not easily digestible. We didn’t play our best cricket. New Zealand played better throughout the series. There were a lot of mistakes we did,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“The first two Tests we did not put enough runs in the first innings. This game we got the 30 runs (28) lead and the target was chaseable.
“We failed as a unit. When you are chasing a target like that, you want runs on the board. That was in my mind and it did not come of. When it does not come off it does not look great.
Rohit on his own performance after Mumbai defeat
“I go in with certain plans and those did not come off this series. We did not play our best cricket in these conditions and are facing the result of that.”
“I was not at my best as captain in leading the team as well as with the bat also. Collectively as a unit we failed to perform,” the India skipper said.
Rohit on leaving his opener’s slot in Adelaide
“The way he (KL Rahul) has batted outside India, he deserves it. I will bat somewhere in the middle. It was a fairly simple decision. Personally, it wasn’t easy but for the team, it was an easy decision to make.
“Maybe in the future, things will be different. I don’t know. Based on what has happened and what KL Rahul has shown outside of India, he probably deserves that place at this point in time. It is something that has brought us success in the first Test.
“You have that one big partnership with Jaiswal on the other side, and it probably won us the Test match. When you come here, in a place like Perth, and you get 500 runs or so, it’s such a massive tick in the box,” he elaborated.
Rohit after Adelaide defeat
“Disappointing week for us, we didn’t play well enough to win the game and Australia played better than us.
“We knew it was going to be challenging with the pink ball. Like I said, Australia was better than us.
“We are quite looking forward to it (Gabba Test), there’s not much time in between as well. We want to go out there and think about what we did right in Perth and what we did last time when we were.
Rohit after Brisbane defeat
“I have not batted well. There’s no harm in accepting that. But I know what’s in my mind, how I’m preparing myself. All those boxes are very much ticked. It’s just about spending as much time as possible, which I’m pretty sure I’m just there.
“As long as my mind, my body, my feet are moving well, I’m pretty happy with how things are panning out for me. Sometimes those numbers can tell you that it’s been a while since he’s got big runs.
“But for a person like me, it’s all about how I feel in my mind, what kind of prep I’m having before each game, and how I’m feeling about myself. That’s the most important thing. And I’m feeling good about myself, to be honest. Runs are obviously not showing that, but inside it’s a different feeling,” he said.
Rohit after loss in Melbourne
“A lot of the things I am trying to do are not falling in the place that I would want to.
“Mentally, look, it is disturbing without a doubt if you’ve come here and you want to try to do successfully what you are supposed to.
“But as of now that is where it is and there are things that we as a team need to look at, and I personally need to look at as well.
“We will see what happens. There is still a game to go.
