‘There was an argument…’: Rohit Sharma speaks about deciding to opt out from Sydney Test in the BGT 2024-25

Rohit reveals reason behind opting out of Sydney Test

Rohit Sharma talked about his decision to opt out from the Sydney Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 against Australia, saying that the decision was for the betterment of the team. As he spoke to former Australian captain Michael Clarke on Beyond23 Cricket Podcast, Rohit recalled his conversation with head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar.

Rohit revealed that Gambhir and Ajit both had different opinions after the captain suggested he should not play. Rohit did not have an impressive performance with the bat in the series, as he scored just 31 runs in 5 innings. Speaking on decision to opt out, he stated that he wished for Shubman Gill to play, as Gill had missed the game before the Sydney Test.

“In the last Test match in Sydney, I had to be honest with myself. I was not hitting the ball well. And I didn’t want to put myself there only because we had a lot of the other guys who were struggling as well. When you add yourself in there, it just becomes a little more… And we wanted Gill to play. He is such a good player. He missed out in the previous Test,” said Rohit.

“I was like, ‘Okay, if I’m not hitting the ball well, it’s right now.’ Things can change ten days later, five days later. I spoke to the coach and the selector, who was there on the tour. They kind of agreed – not agreed. There was an argument around it. You try and put the team first and just look at what the team wants and make the decision accordingly. Sometimes it may work, sometimes it may not. So that’s how it goes,” he added.

“Every decision you try and make, you are not guaranteed success. Since I started captaining the national team, not just me, I wanted the rest of the guys also to think alike – try and put the team first and do what’s necessary for the team and not worry too much about ‘my runs, my scores,’ and stuff like that. It’s important because you are playing a team sport,” Rohit pointed out.

As of now, Rohit Sharma is playing for Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). MI is currently at the seventh spot, with 2 wins out of 6 matches i.e. 4 points to their name.