Aakash Chopra has questioned whether Rohit Sharma would drop himself for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 fifth Test keeping the team's interest in mind. He opined that keeping Shubman Gill out of the playing XI is not the right call.
India are 1-2 down in the five-match series against Australia with the final game starting in Sydney on Friday, January 3. Rohit has aggregated 31 runs at a paltry average of 6.20 in his five innings in the series.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener wondered whether Rohit would consider dropping himself for the team's sake.
"Is Rohit Sharma going to take the decision that is being discussed? Will he drop himself in the team's interest? Is that possible? That will be a big talking point because, in my opinion, making Shubman Gill sit out is not a great thing," he said.
Chopra pointed out that the Indian captain's decision to alter the team combination to accommodate himself at the top of the order backfired.
"It happened for the first time in his captaincy that he kept his interest above the team's interest. He felt he should open because opening is right for him. The moment you start thinking like that, you need to make a lot of changes, which don't help the team and that didn't happen," he observed.
Aakash Chopra highlighted that KL Rahul had to be sent down the order and Shubman Gill had to be dropped for Rohit Sharma to open. He added that all three changes did not work out well for the visitors.
"I feel Rohit Sharma will play this match" - Aakash Chopra
In the same video, Aakash Chopra opined that Rohit Sharma is unlikely to sit out.
"So will he take that call that he should sit out? I am not so sure. I feel Rohit will play this match. We cricketers learn from our childhoods that we shouldn't accept defeat and that we can turn it around. We know how to get up and run after falling. That might be the thought process," he reasoned.
The cricketer-turned-analyst acknowledged that his initial thinking was that Rohit might drop himself because of his lean run but added that he will potentially not take that call.
"In my opinion, he could take that call in the team's interest as he is unable to bat. He has scored 31 runs in five innings, and it's not only these five innings, it's been more than 10 innings including Bangladesh and New Zealand. He has scored just one fifty. I felt this thinking could have been there, but it won't be is what I am thinking also," Chopra observed.
Gautam Gambhir refused to divulge anything about Rohit Sharma's place in India's playing XI in the pre-match press conference. He stated that the final XI would be decided after looking at the pitch before the toss.
Follow IPL Auction 2025 Live Updates, News & Biddings at Sportskeeda. Get the fastest updates on Mega-Auction and cricket news