Rohit Sharma’s decision to ‘opt out’ of the Indian team from the fifth and final Test between India and Australia being played in Sydney led to several cricket experts being surprised. In his stead, Jasprit Bumrah captained the Indian team and won the toss, opting to bat first.

The hosts have already taken an unbeatable 2-1 lead after winning the fourth match in Melbourne by 184 runs. Many previous cricketers and fans were sharply critical of Rohit's weak leadership and batting abilities. India won the first Test by 10 wickets, and Bumrah was given the captaincy again for the last game.

Bumrah revealed during the toss that Rohit "has opted to rest". However, this statement from the pacer was utterly rejected by former Australian cricketer Mark Taylor. Taylor added that Rohit has been "dropped" since no captain would ever opt to rest in the last game of a series.

“To be honest, that's, what do I call that. That's once again, sidestepping the point. The bottom line is the captain of a country does not opt out for the final Test match, the final deciding Test match of a series," Taylor said on Triple M Cricket.

"He has been dropped and I don't know why they just don't say he's been dropped. That doesn't mean he's dropped forever, it means he's missing this match because he is out of form. That's not a crime. That is unfortunately professional sports,” he added. 

During the toss, Bumrah outline the unity in the team by stating that's decision to rest was a selfless one. 

"Our captain has shown leadership by opting to rest in this game. That shows there's a lot of unity in this team. There's no selfishness. Whatever is in the team's best interest we are looking to do that. Two changes, Rohit has opted to rest and Akash Deep is injured so Prasidh comes in," Jasprit Bumrah said at the toss.

"We've played some really good cricket in this series. The last match was pretty exciting. hopefully, we can put up a good show. It seems to be some grass. It doesn't look to have too many demons or look too spicy. Obviously, there will be a challenge with the new ball but if you get through it's always a good batting track,” he said.

India was bowled out for 185 runs with Rishabh Pant top-scoring with 40 runs, while Australia ended day 1 on 9/1.