The Indian cricket team has faced challenges after losing in the fourth Test in Melbourne. The team arrived in Australia last November with some tension, which didn’t go away even after a thrilling win in the first match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth.
Right now, there’s a noticeable rift between captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir. Rohit even chose to rest for the important fifth Test in Sydney. According to a report from The Australian, the team hasn’t been united for a while. After a disappointing first innings where they were bowled out for just 150 runs, Jasprit Bumrah, who was the captain in Rohit’s absence, delivered an impressive bowling performance that helped India bounce back. Players like Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli also stood out in the second innings, allowing India to win by a huge margin of 295 runs, marking their biggest overseas victory.
Surprisingly, this victory didn’t seem to bring the team closer. There were no celebrations, and they didn’t hang out together afterwards. Instead, they split into small groups and went their own ways. A few players, along with some assistant coaches, chose to dine at Nobu, a fancy Japanese restaurant, while coach Gambhir stayed in his hotel. Although a senior support staff member even offered to buy drinks to celebrate, the players weren’t interested and opted for their own plans instead.
After the win in Perth, things took a turn for the worse. India lost by 10 wickets in the following day-night Test. If it weren’t for the rain, they might have lost in the third Test as well. The situation got more intense during the MCG Test when India lost seven wickets in just over 20 overs, leading to a loss. Gambhir had a serious discussion with some players, emphasizing that performance is the key to staying in the team.
In the end, this led to Rohit Sharma sitting out the final Test after a tough series where he scored only 31 runs in five innings. The year 2024 became the least successful for Rohit in Test cricket, as he managed just 619 runs in 26 innings across 14 matches, with an average of only 24.76 runs.
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