India captain Rohit Sharma admitted that his batting form and captaincy have fallen short of expectations, but he chose to stay uncommitted to his future in the Test team. India lost the BGT 2024 Melbourne Test by 184 runs to go 1-2 down in the series.
Rohit faced harsh questions during the press conference following India's defeat in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, where they were unable to salvage a draw on the final day.
Following Rohit Sharma's two failures in Melbourne, speculation about his Test future increased. Despite the rising pressure, Rohit Sharma downplayed the external noise and hinted that he would continue to captain the team in the upcoming New Year's Test in Sydney.
"I stand where I am standing today. There’s nothing to think about what has happened in the past. Obviously, few results haven’t gone our way. As a captain, yes, that is disappointing. Yes, as a batter as well, a lot of things that I am trying to do are not falling into place. But, mentally, it’s disturbing without a doubt. If you have come here, you want to successfully do what you are supposed to. If those things don’t fall in place, that’s a big disappointment," Rohit admitted in a post-match press conference.
Rohit is winless in his last six Tests as captain, including a stunning 0-3 whitewash at home against New Zealand in October-November. His batting form has also been underwhelming, with just 31 runs in six innings in this series and a total of 123 runs across his last six Tests.
The India captain remained optimistic, saying the visiting team will look to buckle up and win the final Test and draw the series.
"As of now, that’s where it is. There are things that we, as a team, need to look at, and I personally need to look at as well. We will try and see what happens. There’s a game to go. If that game goes well, it will be 2-2. A draw will be really nice," he added.
Furthermore, Rohit Sharma acknowledged that he understands the potential risk of over-bowling ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. He emphasized that the team management has taken various measures to manage his workload.
Jasprit Bumrah has been the premier pacer for India and his workload in 2024 has been staggering. He has bowled the second-most overs amongst seamers and featured in the highest number of innings. He even bowled more than 50 overs in the MCG Test and picked 9 wickets.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Rohit Sharma admitted to the challenges of balancing Bumrah’s exceptional form with the need to protect him from overexertion.
"There is to be honest (risk of overbowling Bumrah). He has bowled a lot of overs there's no doubt about it. But again, every Test match we play, we keep that in mind, the workloads of all the bowlers in fact. But again, if somebody is in such great form, you want to try and maximize that form how-much-ever you can and that is what we've been trying to do with Bumrah," Rohit said.
"There comes a time when you need to step back a little bit and give him that little bit of extra breather as well. So we've been very careful. I've been very careful. I talked to him about how he feels and stuff like that. So yeah, those things should be managed carefully, and I'm trying to do that on the field," he added.
Bumrah has bowled a stunning 141.2 overs in four Tests against Australia, taking 30 wickets at an average of 12.83. Bumrah demonstrated his outstanding talents yet again in the Boxing Day Test, taking his 13th five-wicket haul as India bowled Australia out for 228 on Day 5. However, despite his heroics, India lost the fourth Test by 184 runs.
(PTI inputs)
