"A captain should never be dropped nor given the option to opt out": Navjot Singh Sidhu

Former Indian cricketer and Indian politician, Navjot Singh Sidhu, has criticised Rohit Sharma's decision to opt out of the fifth Test match of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. The fifth and final Test is being played at the Sydney Cricket Ground and Jasprit Bumrah has been given the duty to lead the team. 

Rohit Sharma was at the receiving end of a lot of criticism owing to his poor form in Test cricket. He failed to make an impact against Bangladesh and New Zealand and his poor run continued in Australia. Amidst that, the skipper, reportedly, sat out of the fifth Test match, handing over the leadership duties to Bumrah, under whom India won the first and only Test match of the series. 

Meanwhile, Navjot Sidhu revolted against the decision, arguing that a captain should never be dropped nor given the option to opt out as it sends a wrong message. The former cricketer highlighted that this has happened for the first time in the Indian cricket history and the management shouldn’t have given the captain an option to sit out. 

“A Captain should never be dropped midstream nor given the option to opt out … sends wrong signals …. Have seen Captains like Mark Taylor , Azharuddin etc persisted as captain for a year despite bad form …. @ImRo45  deserved more respect and faith from the management … Bizarre coz it happened for the first time in Indian cricket history …. Blunder - for a fallen lighthouse is more dangerous than a reef!” Sidhu wrote on his Twitter handle. 

Rohit Sharma no more part of the selectors' plan post BGT series 

As per a recent report by Indian Express, the selectors have decided to move on from Rohit Sharma. Rohit Sharma is no longer part of their plans as far as red-ball cricket is concerned. 

Moreover, the selectors are also planning to sit with Virat Kohli to know about the further course of action as the team is set to enter a transition phase. It is worth mentioning that both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma put on a horror show in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. While the former has a hundred to his name, Rohit Sharma couldn’t go past the 10-run mark on a single occasion in the series.