India’s captain Rohit Sharma struggled with the bat during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, scoring only 31 runs across five innings. This followed a similarly disappointing home season, where he faced difficulties in Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand. Rohit’s captaincy was also under scrutiny, with India suffering a 0-3 clean-sweep defeat to New Zealand and a 1-3 loss to Australia in their own backyard.
According to the Times of India, after a series of poor performances, Rohit seriously considered retirement. There were already questions surrounding his Test future before the Melbourne Test, but his failure at the MCG reportedly became the turning point. A source told the newspaper, “Rohit had made up his mind after MCG. Had his well-wishers not convinced him to reconsider, we could have seen another retirement in Australia.”
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Despite his personal struggles, Rohit was persuaded by close associates to continue, which led him to stall his retirement decision. He did sit out the final Test of the series in Sydney, but this shift in stance reportedly caused tension with head coach Gautam Gambhir. Speculation about their relationship grew when Gambhir appeared at the pre-match press conference before the final Test – an unusual move, as the captain typically attends. Rohit was also absent from the slip cordon during the team’s final training session in Australia, fueling rumors of discord.
The tension between captain and coach has been a hot topic throughout the series, with reports of disagreements over team selection and crucial match-day decisions, including the toss.
