"Not An Ordinary Captain": Gambhir And Co Blasted For Leaving Rohit Out

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has strongly stated that India Test captain Rohit Sharma should not have been left out of the playing XI of the fifth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney. Rohit, amidst poor form that saw him scored 31 runs in five innings, did not feature in the side for the crucial fifth Test. However, Kaif has stated that Rohit is not any "ordinary" captain, and his contribution to Indian cricket alone should've seen him keep his spot in the XI, whether win, lose or draw.

"Rohit Sharma is not an ordinary captain who can be rested or dropped. Whoever has dropped Rohit Sharma, be it Gautam Gambhir or the selectors, you can't drop him from such a crucial Test," said Kaif.

Rohit Dropped from the crucial #SydneyTest in the BGT series - right decision or tough call?#BGT #INDvAus #CricketWithKaif11 pic.twitter.com/AClYCab7z6 — Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) January 3, 2025

"Rohit Sharma is a respectful leader, who has created this team, has backed the kids; he won India the T20 World Cup six months back. He brought so much happiness to the country. He is a leader. You cannot drop him," Kaif added.

To add to his point, Kaif drew in the example of Virat Kohli, who has also been struggling for runs, but has been persisted with by Team India's management.

"Virat Kohli has not scored runs. Even Usman Khawaja has not scored runs. There are many players who are not amongst the runs in the series as the matches are being played on seaming tracks. The batting has not been easy," Kaif said.

"Dropping him (Rohit) is wrong. The captain can never be dropped. If you win, its with the captain, if you lose, you lose with the captain. He is not someone who can be dropped," Kaif concluded.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma has himself provided clarity on why he isn't featuring in the playing XI for the fifth Test.

"I stood down, is what I'd say. The chat that I had with the coach and selector was very simple: that I was not able to score runs with the bat. I am not in form. This is an important match, we needed a win. We couldn't carry many out of form players. They backed my decision, which was difficult for me to take," Rohit said on Star Sports.

India took a four-run lead after the conclusion of the first innings for both teams.