INDIA coach Gautam Gambhir declined to confirm whether captain Rohit Sharma will play in the fifth Test against Australia, stating that the playing XI will only be announced at the toss on Friday.
Rohit has struggled for runs in the first four matches of the series, where India trail 2-1 after a loss in Melbourne earlier this week.
At the pre-match press conference on Thursday, Gambhir, instead of the captain, addressed reporters. When asked about the change, Gambhir said there was no issue with Rohit.
“Everything is fine with Rohit, and I don’t think it’s anything traditional,” Gambhir said at the Sydney Cricket Ground. “The head coach is here, that should be fine, that should be good enough. We’re going to have a look at the wicket and finalise (our team) tomorrow.”
Pressed further on whether Rohit would feature in the team, Gambhir remained non-committal.
“As I just said, we’re going to have a look at the wicket and probably announce the playing XI tomorrow. So the answer remains the same,” he said.
Gambhir confirmed that pace bowler Akash Deep is out of the match due to a back injury and dismissed reports suggesting he had issued strong words to the team after the Melbourne loss.
“Those are just reports,” he said. “That’s not the truth, and I don’t think I need to answer to any reports. There were some honest words, that’s all I can say. Honesty is extremely important if you want to probably go on to do great things.”
Gambhir emphasised the value of honesty in the team environment but said there were no discussions about the future roles of Rohit or his predecessor Virat Kohli.
“The only conversation was how we can win the next Test match,” he said. “No other conversation has taken place, because we know how important this Test is.”
He expressed confidence in India’s chances of winning the final match to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the World Test Championship final against South Africa.
“Extremely, extremely confident,” Gambhir said. “We’ve got the skill set, we’ve got the individuals. We’ve got everything in that dressing room that can win a Test match here. Not only here, probably (to) go on to do some unbelievable things in the future as well.”
Meanwhile, Australia announced that allrounder Beau Webster will make his Test debut, replacing Mitchell Marsh in the fifth match.
Australia captain Pat Cummins said Webster’s inclusion came after Marsh struggled for form, scoring just 73 runs and bowling sparingly across the first four matches.
“Beau's been in the squad for a few Tests now,” Cummins said. “Mitchy hasn’t quite got the runs or the wickets he’d have liked, so we thought it was time for a freshen-up. It’s a shame for Mitchy because we know how much he brings to the team, but we feel like now is a good week for Beau to get a chance.”
Cummins added that Marsh’s initial selection was based on his batting.
“(Marsh) was in the side this summer for being a top-six batter. I think when he’s at his best, he gets in the side on his batting alone and his bowling is a bonus,” he said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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