The Indian cricket team is enduring a tough time, both on and off the field, in the ongoing Test tour of Australia. Designated captain Rohit Sharma is not featuring in the fifth and final match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
All sorts of speculations have come out regarding Rohit’s playing XI snub. Ahead of the Sydney Test, The Indian Express reported that a senior player is projecting himself as an interim captain.
The report further stated that the senior player wants to be the interim captain and is portraying himself as "Mr Fix-it".
Reacting to the report, former India cricketer Robin Uthappa said if this is true, then the cricketer in question is an "absolute disappointment of a human being."
"Whoever Mr. Fix-it is, I think, is an absolute disappointment of a human being at this point in time. I think whoever that is, he should be really ashamed of himself at a time when you need to keep the team together to progress a personal agenda is completely, in my opinion, pathetic," Uthappa said in a video posted on his Instagram.
"You don't put yourself ahead of your team irrespective of how bad things are. At that point in time, you actually double down on your team. You double down and say I'll do whatever is required at that point in time," he added.
Uthappa also said that the time has come to name and shame this player. He believes the team needs unity right now, and there is no room for personal agendas to be advanced.
"Whoever this person is, whether it's a senior, not a senior, it does not matter, has to be named and shamed. This has to stop. This level of childishness and personal agenda being driven forward at a time when the team needs more unity has to stop," he stated.
In Rohit’s absence, Jasprit Bumrah is leading India in the Sydney Test. The regular Indian captain was all over the place in the ongoing tour Down Under, managing just 31 runs in five innings at an abysmal average of 6.20 -- the lowest by a touring captain on Australian soil.
Before this series, Rohit had scored only 42 runs in four innings against Bangladesh and 91 runs across three Tests against New Zealand at home.
