"I think he might just pull the plug" - Former coach drops massive claim on Rohit Sharma's future during BGT 2024-25 5th Test

Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri believes incumbent skipper Rohit Sharma will call time on his red-ball career after the Sydney Test. There has been a growing talk about his retirement following his dismal returns with the bat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.

At the toss, India's stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah said Rohit has opted to 'rest' and will miss the final Test of the series Down Under, with the team trailing 1-2.

"Our captain has shown his leadership, he's opted to rest in this game," Bumrah said at the toss (via Hindustan Times). "So that shows there's a lot of unity in our team, there's no selfishness, whatever is in the team's best interest, we are looking to do that."

Speaking on air during the morning session of Day 1 (Friday, January 3), Shastri reckoned that the end is not far for Rohit. The former India all-rounder remarked that with no home series in the near future, Rohit might just announce retirement after the conclusion of the series.

"It still is a brave call for a captain to own up and say, 'I'm prepared to take the bench in this game,'" Shastri said (via ABC).

"If there was a home season coming up he might've thought of carrying on, but I think he might just pull the plug at the end of this Test. He's not getting younger … it's not that India don't have youngsters. There are very, very good players in the wings and it's time to build. Tough decisions, but there is a time for everything," he added.

Rohit Sharma will be 38 when India play their next Test during the England series or the ICC World Test Championship final, if they make it.

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India make two changes to their playing XI, including resting Rohit Sharma for 5th BGT 2024-25 Test

Young batter Shubman Gill has replaced Rohit Sharma in the playing XI, who has opted to rest from this Test. Gll was dropped from the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to accommodate Rohit in the top order.

Pacer Akash Deep has also missed out with an injury. Lanky fast bowler Prasidh Krishna has replaced him and will be playing his first Test of the tour.

India opted to bat first after winning the toss. At the time of writing, they are at 38/2 with Gill and Virat Kohli in the middle. KL Rahul (4) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (10) have been dismissed by Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland, respectively.