Our captain has shown...: Bumrah after Rohit Sharma 'opts to rest' from final BGT Test against Australia

Marking a rather dramatic start to the series finale, Rohit Sharma decided to 'rest' with his deputy Jasprit Bumrah taking over the leadership role, something that he had done in the series-opener.

"Our captain has shown leadership, he has opted to rest," said Bumrah during toss. India opted to bat after winning the toss.

Read More: India vs Australia: Rohit Sharma benched for BGT finale; Bumrah leads


Rohit made the call after scoring 31 runs in five innings across three Tests. The 37-year-old white ball great looked like a pale shadow of himself in those innings, struggling to execute even his bread and butter shots including the trademark front pull. The speculation over his future in the longest format also gained momentum after India lost the fourth Test in Melbourne to trail the five-match series 1-2.

The year 2024 turned out to be the least productive year for Rohit in Test cricket as he collected 619 runs in 26 innings across 14 matches averaging 24.76. Having played his 67th five-day game in Melbourne, Rohit is also being expected to call time on his roller-coaster Test career soon.

His longtime teammate and former captain Virat Kohli is also facing criticism for his repeated dismissals outside the off-stump in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy thus far.

Trailing 1-2, a win for Australia will seal their place in the final at the Lord's against South Africa.

India, on other hand, not only require a win but also need Sri Lanka to not lose any of their two Tests at home against Pat Cummins' men.

The visitors aren't looking like a team at ease right now especially Rohit, who is caught between a rock and a hard place both as skipper and batter.

He may or may not announce retirement but playing the traditional format after Sydney looks a long shot.

Australia (Playing XI): Sam Konstas, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (WK), Pat Cummins (C), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.

India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah (C), Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj.

(with agency inputs)