Legendary former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has stated that Rohit Sharma may not be the only whose future is in doubt as Team India move on to the next World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. India captain Rohit Sharma choosing to not play the fifth Test of the Australia tour has raised murmurs that he may soon call time on his Test career. However, Gavaskar believes that the Indian management and selectors will need to take a call on not only Rohit, but also possibly some other senior cricketers.

The ongoing Test in Sydney is India’s last of the current WTC cycle, while India’s journey in the 2025-27 WTC cycle kicks off more than six months later, in June, with a tour of England.

“If India does not qualify for the WTC Final, then I think that the selection committee will want to look, not just at Rohit Sharma, but also some others,” said Gavaskar, speaking on Star Sports.

“They might be saying, ‘Look, are they going to be available for the 2027 World Test Championship Final?’ In case India does well in the next two years. So that should be the selection committee’s thinking,” Gavaskar added.

While Gavaskar affirmed that Rohit may not be a part of the think-tank’s long-term aim, he may have also hinted the same in the case of fellow veteran stalwart Virat Kohli, and possibly even Ravindra Jadeja.

Rohit, Kohli and Jadeja are all beyond the age of 36, and have entered the final phases of their career.

“I think Rohit Sharma, being 38 years old (at the start of the 2025-27 WTC cycle), will not be fitting into their plans as a 40-year-old,” Gavaskar said.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma stated that his decision to drop out of the fifth Test was one taken only concerning that match, and had no influence on his future.

“I don’t believe in what happens five months later. I want to focus on the present. This decision is not retirement decision. I am not going to move away from the game. But, for this game, I am out because I am not scoring with the bat. There is no guarantee that after five months I will not score runs. Every day life changes. I believe in myself,” he said,” Rohit said, speaking on Star Sports.

“At the same time I have to be realistic as well. I have played this game for so long. Nobody from outside can decide when I should go, or sit out or lead the team. I am sensible, matured, father of two. I know what I want in life,” he concluded.

An out-of-sorts India was knocked out of the World Test Championship final as Australia cruised to a six-wicket victory in the fifth Test in Sydney on Sunday to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 years, leaving the visitors with several points to ponder in a difficult transition phase. Australia won the five-match series 3-1 and also qualified for the World Test Championship final against South Africa slated at the Lord’s from June 11 to 15. A target of 162 could have been trickier had new Test captain Jasprit Bumrah been in a position to bowl despite painful back spasms but once Virat Kohli led the team out, it was as clear as the Sydney skyline that defending the total would be next to impossible.

Bumrah deservedly claimed the player of the series honour for his astonishing haul of 32 wickets in five matches but that was hardly a consolation for the shambolic team performance that India managed.

“Little frustrating but sometimes you have to respect your body, you can’t fight your body. Disappointing, probably missed out on the spiciest wicket of the series,” Bumrah said of his inability to bowl in the second innings during the post-match presentation ceremony.

Prasidh Krishna (3/65 in 12 overs) and Mohammed Siraj (1/69 in 12 overs) were not a patch on Bumrah and despite multiple breakthroughs, they bowled too many poor deliveries to make it easy for the hosts to canter home in just 27 overs.

Usman Khawaja (41), Travis Head (34 not out) and debutant Beau Webster (39 not out) completed the formalities, putting an end to India’s misery in a tour that has exposed all of the team’s batting frailties and an unhealthy reliance on Bumrah.

Once Bumrah was ruled out after he tried some shadow bowling during the morning warm-up session and didn’t feel comfortable, the writing was on the wall.

The magnificent Scott Boland (6/45) and the ever-reliable Pat Cummins (3/44) polished off the Indian tail for just 157 in 39.5 overs. If one takes out Rishabh Pant’s fiesty 61 and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 22, the other nine players collectively contributed a mere 74 runs.

The series would leave the men who matter in Indian cricket establishment with a lot on their minds when they deliberate on ways to get the house back in order.

With six of the completed innings yielding less than 200 runs, one doesn’t need a soothsayer to tell what went wrong on the tour.

Regular skipper Rohit Sharma and batting talisman Virat Kohli flopped with technical issues troubling them throughout the season.

Jaiswal (391 runs) was the top-scorer despite three ducks followed by rookie Nitish Kumar Reddy (298 runs), KL Rahul (276 runs) and Pant (255 runs).

As much as one wants to take a nuanced view of Rohit and Kohli’s poor form but it is undeniable that both veterans are finding it increasingly difficult to stem the rot that has set in their batting.

There are a few good youngsters in the fringes and the new World Test Championship cycle would demand that they be given a chance to develop over time.

While a tough call on Kohli and Rohit is awaited, the BCCI brass also needs to seriously look at whether coach Gautam Gambhir is the right man to be in-charge across formats.

Under Gambhir, India have lost six Tests out of 10 during the season going by apart from being defeated in an ODI series in Sri Lanka.

If Kohli and Rohit are held accountable, Gambhir can’t be let off merely because the team is in transition.

The head coach’s head-strong approach is an pen secret and it is not earning him too many friends in the dressing room.

Ravichandran Ashwin’s retirement after Brisbane and Rohit’s eventual call to drop himself happened in a manner that can best be described as abrupt.

Messing with a player’s gameplan isn’t the best way to manage as Rishabh Pant demonstrated by oscillating between too careful at times that only disrupted his natural rhythm.

But more than batting, it would be the bowling – both pace and spin that would be a huge concern for the national selection committee as well as the team management.

Bumrah’s absence showed what India missed on the final day even though it was heavily tilted towards Australia.

As Glenn McGrath put it, had Bumrah not taken 32 wickets, there was no chance that India would have managed a 1-3 margin.

In Brisbane, they were saved by rain and in Melbourne, Rohit let the game drift away during the final session on day four.

It has taken Mohammed Siraj 36 Test matches to complete 100 wickets and these are not exactly great figures.

Akash Deep is still raw but has potential while Prasidh Krishna can swing between bowling unplayable deliveries and pedestrian work.

Harshit Rana is simply not prepared for this level and would need to play loads of Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and India A games to get ready for big Tests.

In the spin department, Ravindra Jadeja is now more of a batter and less of a spinner unless the wicket has something to offer from day one like it happens in India.

Washington Sundar’s 12 wickets in Pune should be looked in isolation and he is also more of a batter than a competent off-spinner on batting-friendly wickets.

Only silver lining of the series is Jaiswal taking over the mantle as the next batting superstar and the raw talent exhibited by Nitish Reddy.

Reddy’s bowling, if it develops, would give India a chance to play three spinners at home on decent tracks.

Indian pacer Prasidh Krishna, shared his thoughts on the leadership styles of Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma. Krishna emphasized that while every captain brings their unique approach, the team’s preparation and clarity in execution remain constant, irrespective of who is at the helm.  “I think no matter who is leading, as a team we prepare really well about what we can do and what we need to be doing when he goes in as a bowling unit,” Krishna remarked during the post-day press conference today, underlining the collective effort and synergy within the team.

He further elaborated that the clarity in plans is a hallmark of the Indian side, ensuring seamless transitions in leadership.

“The plan was pretty clear even while Bumrah was on or Virat was on, so not much changed that way,” Krishna added.

Rohit Sharma earlier decided to drop himself from the playing XI in the fifth and final Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.

The world of cricket was left in a state of shock when Jasprit Bumrah came out at the time of the toss on Friday, confirming Rohit’s absence from the playing XI. At the time of the toss, the stand-in skipper confirmed that Rohit opted out.

Coming to the final session of the match, Rishabh Pant’s blitz knock helped India post 141/6 on the board in their second innings on Saturday, extending their lead to 145 runs against Australia on Day 2 of the fifth Border-Gavaskar Test.

Earlier in the day, Australia was bowled out for 181, giving India a slender lead.

Coming out to bat in the final session, Indian openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul displayed some fluent strokes, but the first breakthrough came when Scott Boland dismissed Rahul for 13, leaving India at 42/1. Jaiswal soon followed, clean bowled by Boland for 22.

India faced further setbacks as star batter Virat Kohli was caught in the slip cordon by Steve Smith off Boland for 17, falling to a delivery outside the off-stump. At 59/3, India was in trouble.

Debutant Beau Webster added to India’s struggles, claiming his maiden Test wicket by dismissing Shubman Gill for 13.

Rishabh Pant, the wicketkeeper-batter ignited the innings with a scintillating counterattack, smashing Mitchell Starc for a six on the very first ball he faced. He then unleashed a flurry of boundaries, hitting three in a single over from Webster. Pant raced to a half-century in just 29 balls, hitting two consecutive sixes to Starc, the second-fastest fifty by an Indian in Tests. The record of 28 balls, also held by Pant, was set against Sri Lanka in 2022.

Pant’s explosive knock ended at 61 off 33 balls when he was dismissed by Pat Cummins. His innings featured six boundaries and four towering sixes, lifting India to 124/5.

Nitish Kumar Reddy could only add 4 runs before chipping a simple catch to Cummins at mid-off, becoming Boland’s fourth victim of the day.

At stumps, Ravindra Jadeja (8*) and Washington Sundar (6*) remained unbeaten, showing grit to keep India’s lead intact. With the match finely poised, India will look to extend their advantage on Day 3.