Ravi Shastri revealed his opinion on Rohit Sharma's choice to sit out the Sydney Test against Australia in January of this year, which caused extensive fan discussion. Rohit then clarified that his decision was based on his commitment to prioritizing the team over personal goals, a principle he fully supports.
Shastri claims he would have campaigned for Rohit Sharma, the recently retired Test captain, to play the final match against Australia in Sydney earlier this year.
Rohit had a terrible run in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which India lost 3-1, with an average of only 6.20 across five innings. Given his dismal record, Rohit elected to step aside for the last Test in Sydney, giving over the leadership to Jasprit Bumrah.
Shastri has since shared details of a conversation he had with Rohit at an IPL fixture and before his retirement.
“I saw Rohit a lot at the toss. At the toss, you don't get enough time to speak. Though I did put my hand on his shoulder in one of the games. I think it was in Mumbai and told him, if I was the coach, you would have never not played that last Test match. You would have played that last Test match because the series wasn't over.
And I'm not someone who threw in the towel with the scoreline 2-1. If your mindset is you feel you are… that's not the stage, you leave a team,” Shastri said on ICC Review.
Rohit got only 31 runs in three outings in Australia, missing the first of five Tests owing to personal reasons. Rohit only scored 50 runs in his last eight Tests, which included home series against Bangladesh and New Zealand, at an average of 10.93.
Despite his low returns, Shastri believes he would’ve pushed for Rohit's inclusion in Sydney, with the series poised at 2-1.
“That was a 30-40 run game. And that's exactly what I told him. The pitch was so spicy in Sydney. Whatever kind of form he was in, he's a match-winner. If he had gone, sensed the situation, sensed the condition, and smashed it for even 35-40 at the top, you never know. That series would have been level. But that's each one to his own.
Other people have different styles. This would have been my style, and I let him know it. It's sitting in my heart for a long time. I had to get it out. And I told him that,” Shastri added.
The experienced opener announced his retirement from Test cricket this week, marking the end of a red-ball career that began with a century against the West Indies in Kolkata in 2013. He finishes with 4,301 runs in 67 Tests, an average of 40.57, with 12 hundreds and 18 half-centuries. Rohit captained India in 24 Tests, winning 12 and losing nine.
Rohit retired from T20I cricket in June 2024 after leading India to a seven-run victory over South Africa in the final of the 2024 Men's T20 World Cup.
(ICC inputs)
