AAP: INDIA captain Rohit Sharma appears no certainty to play in the fifth Test at the SCG, after his coach twice opted against guaranteeing his spot in the side.
India coach Gautam Gambhir has refused to guarantee under-fire captain Rohit Sharma will play in the fifth and deciding Test against Australia at the SCG.
Gambhir confirmed to the media on Thursday that quick Akash Deep would miss Friday’s Test with a back injury, in one guaranteed change for Sydney.
But asked directly whether embattled captain Rohit would play in Sydney with India needing a win to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Gambhir refused to answer directly.
“We are going to have a look at the wicket and announce our playing XI tomorrow,” Gambhir said.
Asked again if he could guarantee the opener’s spot, Gambhir responded: “The answer remains the same.”
Gambhir’s appearance at the pre-match press conference also raised eyebrows, with each team captain usually fronting the media.
However, India previously broke from that tradition this summer with Shubman Gill facing the media on the day before the Gabba Test.
Gambhir also spoke in place of Rohit at Wednesday night’s Prime Minister’s event at Kirribilli House.
“Everything is fine with Rohit, I don’t think it is anything traditional (for him to speak today),” Gambhir said.
“The head coach is here, that should be good enough.”
Rohit is yet to pass 10 in any of his five innings in the series, while he was picked ahead of Gill for the last match in Melbourne .
India’s captain did not feature in the slips cordon in practice on Thursday that at times included Gill, Virat Kohli and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.
There had also been question marks over Pant’s spot after his two ugly dismissals at the MCG, including the needless pull shot that started the rot in the second innings.
Indian megastar Kohli is also under pressure, his unbeaten 100 in the second innings in Perth seeming an age ago while recording scores of 5, 7, 11, 3, 36 and 5 for the series.
Like Australia, the tourists face a transition period over coming years but Gambhir said selections would be based on performance and not age.
“It is not about phasing out senior players or getting the youngsters in,” Gambhir said.
“Ultimately the only thing that can keep you in that dressing room is performance. It starts from all us. Not only from the players but the coaches as well.”
Gambhir also took aim at suggestions he had let out his fury at India’s players following their last-day loss in Melbourne.
According to a report in the Indian Express, Gambhir told players he had “had enough”, unhappy with them playing their own game rather than for the team.
“It was just reports, that’s not the truth,” Gambhir said.
“And I don’t think I need to answer reports. There were some honest words, and honesty is very important if you want to go on and achieve great things.
“It’s the team-first ideology that matters. It’s a team sport and you need to play what the team needs you to do.
“People can play their natural game, but in a team sport individuals only contribute. If you need to play in a certain way, I think you have to do it.”
