‘Captain Of A Country Doesn’t Opt Out’: Mark Taylor Gives Bold Verdict On Rohit Sharma’s Omission From Sydney Test

Former Australian cricketer Mark Taylor has attacked India for their decision to use the term “resting Rohit Sharma” for his absence in the last Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Taylor has spoken out following a statement by stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah explaining that Rohit had “chosen to rest” for the match. He had called Bumrah less than truthful, asserting that the Indian captain was really dropped because of his poor batting form and India should be a lot more frank about the reasons for the dropping. At the toss, Bumrah had referred to Rohit’s absence as a selfless decision, using the term “our captain” while underlining the unity in the team.

‘He Has Been Dropped’: Mark Taylor On Rohit Sharma

“To be honest, that’s, what do I call that. That’s once again, sidestepping the point. The bottom line is the captain of a country does not opt out for the final Test match, the final deciding Test match of a series. He has been dropped and I don’t know why they just don’t say he’s been dropped. That doesn’t mean he’s dropped forever, it means he’s missing this match because he is out of form. That is unfortunately professional sports,” Mark Taylor said on Triple M Cricket.

Also Read: Rohit Sharma Dropped: ‘Opted Out’ Or Deliberately ‘Rested’ In Sydney Test? Reasons Behind The Sudden Decision

Sunil Gavaskar Left Surprised

While former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar was left astounded with the move, commenting that he had never witnessed anything similar in his entire career with a question whether it was the first time in Indian cricket history when a captain opted not to play in a match.

“Yes, I think, because this is such an important Test match they don’t want any anything to distract them. Sharma, obviously he’s the captain and he’s he is selector to selector. He’s there’s a captain, coach, manager sometimes. They would have had that conversation and looking at his form, he decided that it was better that Gill should come in,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

Also Read: Rohit Sharma’s SHOCKING Decision: Will This Mark The End Of His Test Career?

“I think India, it’s a little bit different. In the sense that you don’t normally see this. This is probably the first time that I recall that a captain has opted not to play. I’ve dropped myself down the order as a captain when I wasn’t scoring runs,” he added.