Sydney, Jan 3 With speculations suggesting that Rohit Sharma has played his last Test match for the Indian national team, and the skipper having ‘opted to rest’ in the fifth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant labelled the move as an ‘emotional decision.’
“It was an emotional decision because he’s been the captain for a long time. We see him as the leader of the team. There are some decisions that you are not involved with, it was a call by the management and I was not a part of that conversation so can’t explain further,” said Pant at the end of the day press conference.
Rohit has averaged just 6.2 from the three Tests he played against Australia with the highest score of 10. Speculation around him not playing at Sydney emerged after head coach Gautam Gambhir refused to term him as a guaranteed starter in the pre-match press conference.
Sharma opting to sit out paved the way for vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah to lead the Indian side in a series-deciding match. The 27-year old went on to highlight the Indian spearhead’s positive approach to the game.
“The message (from Bumrah) is to be positive all the time, don’t think about what has already happened and. just give your best on the field. That’s what you want from your captain, being in a positive frame of mind and keep moving the game forward each and every day,” he added.
Pant was India’s highest scorer on Day 1 having scored 40 runs off 98 deliveries, in an innings laced with three boundaries and one six. Pant’s wicket brought upon a late collapse, with Nitish Kumar Reddy being caught at slips on the very next delivery. Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar’s wicket fell soon after but a lot of controversy surrounded the manner of the latter’s dismissal.
Sundar was adjudged caught behind off Australian captain Pat Cummins. The on-field umpire, Saikat Sharfuddoula, had initially ruled Sundar not out, but Australia opted for a review.
Joel Wilson spent considerable time analysing the replays to determine whether Sundar had gloved the short-pitched delivery. The Snickometer showed a spike as the ball passed near Sundar’s glove, but the visuals raised questions. One frame appeared to show no spike when the ball was closest to the glove, while the subsequent frame captured a spike.
Pant went on to claim there’s not much to say about the decision but called for a better use of technology in order to provide conclusive results.
“There is not much to say because technology is one part which you as a cricketer can’t control. I feel whatever decision is made on the field has to stay with the on-field umpire, unless it’s so conclusive to change the decision. End of the day it’s the umpire’s decision and I can’t challenge it every time but the technology can be a little better,” he said.
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