Srinagar: Indian Cricket is under lot of stress these with lot things happening around after the MCG defeat vs Australia and add to that is the dressing room leak and suspense over Rohit Sharma’s participation in final test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney.
India coach Gautam Gambhir declined to confirm on Thursday whether Rohit would play in the decisive fifth Test.
There will be at least one change to the side that lost the fourth Test at Melbourne after pace bowler Akash Deep was ruled out with a back problem.
Either Harshit Rana or Prasidh Krishna could play instead in the match which begins in Sydney on Friday.
“Everything is fine with Rohit and I don’t think it’s anything traditional,” Gambhir said when asked why Rohit was absent from the usual media duties.
“The head coach is here and that should be good enough. We are going to have a look at the wicket and finalise (the team) tomorrow.”
Asked again if Rohit would be part of that team, Gambhir responded: “The answer remains the same.”
Rohit Sharma missed the first Test in Perth for the birth of his second child, with Jasprit Bumrah assuming the captaincy and guiding India to their only win of the five-match series so far.
Virat Kohli is also under pressure. Aside from scoring 100 not out in Perth, he has struggled to get out of single figures.
In contrast, younger batsmen such as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Nitish Kumar Reddy have excelled.
“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.”
Australia are currently leading the series 2-1 with India needing to win in Sydney to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.