India captain Rohit Sharma adamant he wasn’t dropped, made call himself as he insists he is not retiring

A defiant Rohit Sharma says he made the call to drop himself for the fifth Test in Sydney, insisting he was not axed by selectors. Speaking for the first time since falling out of India’s side for the decisive Test at the SCG, India’s captain also rejected any suggestion his career was over. India had refused to say whether Rohit would play the fifth Test against Australia in the lead up, after a series where he has scored 3, 6, 10, 3 and 9. His replacement as captain, Jasprit Bumrah, stated at the toss Rohit had “opted out” of the match and decided to “rest” from the series decider. That was largely met with cynicism, given India must win in Sydney to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. But speaking at lunch on day two and with India fighting to stay in the Test, Rohit was insistent he had initiated the conversation with selectors. “I had a chat with the coach and the selector was very simple,” Rohit said on Star Sports coverage of the fifth Test. “I am not making runs at the moment. I am not in form and it’s an important game. We need an in-form player. “Our batting order isn’t in form at the moment. So out-of-form players can’t carry the team at the moment. “This was the simple thing in my mind. It was my understanding that I should tell the coach and the selector and they backed my call.” Rohit’s absence has prompted questions over whether he will retire after the Sydney Test, with a battle ahead to break back into the team. The 37-year-old has played 67 Tests for India, and led the team since 2022. But across a miserable eight-Test run against Bangladesh, New Zealand and Australia in recent months, he has scored 164 runs at an average of 10.93 Rohit insisted he had not yet made the call to walk away. “This is not a decision of retirement. I am not moving away from this game,” Rohit said. “But I took a decision to step away from this game because I was not able to score runs with the bat. “There is no guarantee that I will score runs two or five months from now. I have seen a lot of cricket, every minute, every second and everyday life changes. “I believe that things will change but at the same time I have to be realistic as well. “People sitting in the commentary box, or writing with a laptop in their hands, will not decide how my life goes.”