SYDNEY: Indian test skipper Rohit Sharma said sitting out the final match of the series against Australia due to poor form does not mean he will retire, adding that critics will not decide when he should walk away from the sport. 

Rohit was dropped after scoring only 31 runs in five innings as India look to draw the final test and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah replacing him as captain in Sydney. 

Rohit has only one fifty in his last 15 test innings, which include 10 single-digit scores, but the 37-year-old said he had confidence in himself to turn things around.

“This decision is not a retirement decision nor am I going to take myself out of the game,” Rohit told Star Sports broadcaster on day two of the Sydney test. 

“I sat out of this match because I’m not scoring runs. There is no guarantee that runs will not come two or five months down the line. I have seen a lot in cricket. Every minute, every second, every day life changes. 

“I have belief that things will change, but at the same time I have to be realistic as well. So life won’t change by what someone with a mic, pen or laptop writes or says. I’ve played the game for years. 

“They can’t decide when we should retire, when we should sit out, when we should captain. I am a sensible man, a mature man, a father of two kids. So I think I know what I need in life.”

‘I AM NOT IN FORM’ 

With India trailing 2-1 ahead of the fifth and final test, Rohit said he “stood down” after a discussion with the selectors and head coach Gautam Gambhir, who had declined to confirm on the eve of the game if the batter would play. 

The match is finely poised with India at 141-6 in the second innings, leading Australia by 145 runs. 

“The chat that I had with the coach and the selector was very simple – my bat is not scoring runs, I am not in form, this is an important match and we need players who are in form,” Rohit added. 

“The boys are not in great form. So I had this simple thought in my mind – we can’t carry out-of-form players.

“That’s why I thought I should inform the coach and the selector about what’s on my mind. They backed my decision. They said, ‘You’ve been playing for many years, you’re the best judge of what you are doing.'” 

India’s next test series is against England in June when Rohit will be 38.

Australia’s coach Andrew McDonald has claimed that India attempted to intimidate teenager Sam Konstas during the tense fifth and deciding Test at the SCG. McDonald expressed his concerns over the on-field spat between Konstas and India’s captain, Jasprit Bumrah, following the dismissal of Usman Khawaja on the final ball of Day 1.

According to McDonald, the manner in which several Indian players swarmed Konstas in celebration after the wicket was “quite intimidating.”

“My conversation to him was just around whether he was okay,” McDonald said when discussing his check-in with Konstas after the altercation.

“Clearly the way that India celebrated that it was quite intimidating. It’s clearly within the rules and regulations of the game, as there have been no charges laid.”

McDonald also emphasized that while India’s actions were well within the bounds of the game, they still raised concerns about the mental well-being of the young player.

The incident occurred after the Indian team celebrated a crucial wicket in close proximity to the Australian debutant. McDonald’s worries stemmed from the fact that the celebration seemed directed at Konstas.

It was not at all surprising that Rishabh Pant bulldozed the Australian attack with his stroke-play in the second innings but his ultra-defensive approach on the opening day indeed was, Australia head coach Andrew McDonald said on Saturday.

Pant had laboured to 40 off 98 balls, taking multiple blows on his body during his 149-minute stay on the wicket on Day. The wicketkeeper-batter later said that he was not in a frame of mind to attack.

Pant, though, changed the gears effortlessly in the second innings, hitting Mitchell Starc for two massive sixes. Scott Boland and Beau Webster were not spared either as they too were lofted for a six each.

“First of all, it’s not surprising, the way he plays. We were in fact a little bit surprised in the first innings, the way he went about his work. He’s got an incredible ability to put pressure back on to bowlers,” McDonald said, doffing his hat to India’s biggest match-winner in Test cricket in recent years.

However, Australia didn’t allow Pant to completely walk away as Pat Cummins dismissed him just when things looked like getting out of hand.

“We’re planning for that though, we’ll plan leading into the summer. We bounced in and out of a few plans there and clearly kept taking on the boundary riders and was getting away with it and no, it was an innings that you would say was right for that time.”

Virat Kohli has been out eight times in his nine innings while fishing at deliveries on or outside the off-stump and Australia head coach praised his bowlers, especially Scott Boland, who sent back the India stalwart four times in the last six innings. 

Does it seem easy to get Kohli out? 

“No, it’s never easy to get Virat out,” McDonald, trying to contain his smile of satisfaction.

“I give full credit to the bowlers and the execution of the plan. It’s one thing to have a plan, but then to be able to execute is another thing. It’s put him (Kohli) under immense pressure. And, look, he’s tried some things.”

“He’s tried walking out of his crease. He’s tried different tactics as well. But clearly that relentless nature of our bowlers, in particular, Scottie (Boland), the ‘match-up’ has been incredibly difficult for him to combat. But he’s never an easy wicket, no.”

The traditional SCG wicket is usually a batting paradise and also helps the spinners towards the end but the ongoing Test has unfolded on a green top with variable bounce on offer.

McDonald did not hide his appreciation for the ground staff for preparing a fair track.

“The ground staff have done an incredible job in terms of, creating a wicket with something in it. Traditionally here it’s quite benign and we’ve had a lot of draws, so a lot of people have been talking about the draws, so you’re damned if you do it and damned if you don’t. So this game’s sped up.

“I think he’s trying to produce an even contest between bat and ball. There’s no doubt about that. It’s made for interesting cricket.”