Rohit on dropping himself: Had an argument with head coach and selector, tried putting team first

New Delhi: India skipper Rohit Sharma has revealed that his decision to opt out of the Sydney Test against Australia earlier this year was not an unanimous one and involved an “argument” with head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar.

The captain, who played at Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, failed in five consecutive innings before deciding to sit out to accommodate Shubman Gill, who missed the Boxing Day Test at MCG.

“We somehow wanted Gill to play, he’s such a good player. He missed out in the previous Test match. I’m like… okay, if I’m not hitting the ball well, it is right now. Things can change five days later, ten days later,” Rohit told former Australian skipper Michael Clarke during Beyond23 Cricket podcast.

“I spoke to the coach and the selector, and they kind of agreed, not agreed, …. there was an argument around it,” he disclosed.

Known for his team-first leadership approach, the Indian skipper’s logic was simple.

“You try and put the team first, you just look at what the team wants, and make the decision accordingly. Sometimes it will work, sometimes it may not. That’s how it goes. Every decision you try and make, you aren’t guaranteed success,” said Rohit.

The great batter also gave a logical reasoning as to how he arrived at the decision to drop himself.

“I didn’t have a great game (in Adelaide). Then I went back to the room, and I was like, I should have opened man. I would rather fail doing what I do and where I do it. That’s my place, that’s my position. I would rather go there and bat, whether I get success or not, it’s a different story. But I’m in my natural position for the team,” he said.

In fact, he thought, he should give himself another game in Brisbane.

“And I said, no. It’s only one game. Let’s not overthink, let’s give it another game. It’s 1-1. We can try and change things around in Brisbane. And then, it was a draw. When we got back to Melbourne, we changed our mind. I went back to open the innings.”

Rohit admitted that he had to drop himself as there were multiple players, who were out of form at the same time, including star batter Virat Kohli. Barring his hundred in the opener in Perth, Kohli struggled though the series.

“In the last Test match… I had to be honest with myself. I wasn’t hitting the ball well. I didn’t want to put myself there only because we had dropped the other guys who were struggling as well,” Rohit added.

The skipper said that once he got the leadership responsibility, he had to put the interests of the team first at all times.

“Since I started captaining the national team, I just felt that not just me but rest of the guys also need to think alike and put the team first, do what is necessary for the team, and not worry about my runs, my score and my hundred, my five wickets.

“Because it is important, you are playing team sport, if you get 100 and not cross the finishing line, what’s the use…”

Need a fit Bumrah and Shami for England

India will be travelling to England for a five-Test series from June 20 to August 4 and the skipper believed that a fully-fit Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah is a must to give the hosts a good chance.

And for that, the two seasoned pros need to come out of a gruelling IPL unscathed.

“We need some of these guys (Bumrah, Shami) to be 100 percent fit. I hope they come out of IPL really well, that is the challenging part. I know it’s four overs only but you play today, travel tomorrow, and then you play again, that’s the challenging part.

“So I hope these two guys (Bumrah and Shami) along with other guys finish the IPL really well, without concerns and if we have a full fit team in England. We will have a good series,” he added.