New Delhi, Jan 2
Amid a lot of chatter over Indian skipper Rohit Sharma's place in the team following his poor run of form, former India cricketer Madan Lal said that team management and coach can sit down and sort such things out and asserted that its the skipper's call to decide whether he wants to play or not.
Rohit, who was not a member of the side to win the first Test match of the series in Perth, has been struggling for form. Since returning to the team from the second Test onwards, he has made 31 runs at an average of just 6.20. The skipper is averaging 10.93 in his last nine Tests, which intensifies the speculations over his future with the team.
"Rohit is a captain. As team management, as a coach, they can sit down and sort things out. What’s the problem when you’re playing for the country? The coach doesn’t have that much power to just drop someone. They’ll have to consult, right? The team isn’t formed by the captain alone, is it? The coach and captain together form the team, right?" Madan Lal told IANS.
Ahead of the Sydney Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India coach Gautam Gambhir also did not confirm Rohit's selection for the final Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test match at the SCG press conference. He said underfire skipper's place in the playing XI will be decided after having a look at the pitch on match day.
"Rohit has to make a decision—whether to play or not to play. If he believes he can do the job and regain his form, that's good. It's about how you feel, your confidence. If he feels that he's not pulling his weight, he can always step aside and give a chance to others. The only thing is that the shuffling of the batting order is a bit of an issue. First, he went to number 5, then he came back to the top of the order," Madan Lal added.
Further speaking about Rohit's leadership and teams' shortcomings, the veteran said, "As a team, you have to perform. You're playing against Australia, not Sri Lanka. You have to seize the moment. And Jasprit Bumrah is the only bowler taking wickets. The rest of the them , they're taking wickets too, but not breaking through at the right moments.
"Like, if you see… Mohammed Siraj took wickets. But the thing is, when did he take those wickets? When 400 runs had already been scored, or 300 runs, or 250, or 400 runs."
In the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, Bumrah is leading the wicket-takers chart with 30 wickets at an average of 12.83. He also completed 200 Test wickets in Australia, becoming the fastest Indian pacer to achieve this feat.
His 71 scalps in 2024 is also the fifth most wickets taken by an Indian bowler in a Test calendar year, a list led by Kapil Dev, who picked 75 wickets in 18 matches in 1983. Be it in South Africa and Australia, or conditions back home, Bumrah was ever impressive.
"When Bumrah is getting wickets, the bowler at the other end also needs to strike. Akash Deep took 1 or 2 wickets, but someone needs to bowl consistently. The only one consistently getting wickets is Jasprit. You need support from the other end too, and at the right time," he added.
India must win the Sydney Test, starting on Friday, to keep their slim World Test Championship Final hopes alive, and would also need Australia to not win either of their two Test matches in Sri Lanka to lock in their spot at Lord's in June.
Sharing advice for the Indian team ahead of the crucial Sydney Test against Australia, the 73-year-old said that the visitors should not panic. He encouraged them to give their 200 percent, understanding that they are playing in Australia’s home conditions. The focus should be on staying calm and putting in their best effort despite the challenges.
"Don't panic. Believe in yourself, and you have a good team with you, you had a good bowling unit. You should come back strongly. It's a team game, not an individual game here. They are very, very experienced players, matured players, and they know their job.
"They need to do it with confidence. That's what I say. There is nothing to worry about. You are playing in Australia, at their home ground. You need to perform twice as well, because Australia is very strong at home, just like we are strong at our home.
"Whatever the team management decides, whatever the captain decides, you need to be in a good frame of mind when playing the test match. Because being 2-1 down, if you win this test match, you are worthy to square the series. That is very good, and I am sure they will do it," he concluded.