Rohit sits out of BGT finale; stand-in Bumrah praises skipper's leadership

In a surprise move, India captain Rohit Sharma chose to give himself a break from the fifth and final Test against Australia in Sydney on Friday. This decision comes after a series of disappointing performances, adding a dramatic twist to the highly anticipated series finale.

His deputy Jasprit Bumrah took over the leadership role, something that he had done in the series-opener as well when Rohit took a short paternity break.

"Our captain has shown leadership, he has opted to rest," said Bumrah at the toss that India won and opted to bat.

Rohit made the call after scoring 31 runs in five innings across three Tests. The 37-year-old white ball great looked like a pale shadow of himself in those innings, struggling to execute even his bread and butter shots including the trademark front pull.

Looking at India's practice session on the eve of the game, it became clear that Rohit was going to sit out.

The speculation over his future in the longest format also gained momentum after India lost the fourth Test in Melbourne to trail the five-match series 1-2.

The year 2024 turned out to be the least productive year for Rohit in Test cricket as he collected 619 runs in 26 innings across 14 matches averaging 24.76.

Having played his 67th five-day game in Melbourne, Rohit is also being expected to call time on his roller-coaster Test career soon.

Rohit could not replicate his stellar success in white ball cricket over the course of his 11-year Test career.

After not realising his potential in the middle-order following his debut in 2013, Rohit's red ball career got a second wing in 2019 when he started opening.

Last year Rohit guided India to a much-awaited T20 World Cup title but his performances dropped drastically in the traditional format.

His longtime teammate and former captain Virat Kohli is also facing criticism for his repeated dismissals outside the off-stump in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy thus far.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

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