SYDNEY, Jan 3, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Former India coach Ravi Shastri said Friday
he expected skipper Rohit Sharma to "pull the plug" on his red-ball career
after being left out of the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney.

The 37-year-old opener has had a poor series and the writing was on the wall
when he failed to show up for India's eve-of-match press conference.

Coach Gautam Gambhir instead fronted the media and declined to throw his
support behind him.

Stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah insisted at the coin toss Friday that Rohit
had "opted to rest" for the good of the team rather than being forced out.

But Shastri suspects it is the end of Rohit's 67-Test career, predicting a
retirement announcement after the game.

"It still is a brave call for a captain to own up and say, 'I'm prepared to
take the bench in this game,'" Shastri said while commentating on Fox Sports.

"If there was a home season coming up he might've thought of carrying on, but
I think he might just pull the plug at the end of this Test.

"It's not that India don't have youngsters. There are very, very good players
in the wings and it's time to build.

"Tough decisions, but there is a time for everything."

Rohit quit T20 international cricket last year after lifting the World Cup,
but is yet to call time on his ODI career.

He missed the first Test in Perth for the birth of his second child and has
not looked fully engaged since, failing to get past 10 runs in any of his
five innings.

His recent form comes on the back of a similarly poor return during India's
3-0 home series loss to New Zealand during October-November.

"Our captain has shown his leadership, he's opted to rest in this game,"
Bumrah said at the toss.

"So that shows there's a lot of unity in our team, there's no selfishness,
whatever is in the team's best interest, we are looking to do that."

Should Rohit call it quits, it would be the second retirement of the tour
with off-spinning great Ravichandran Ashwin heading home after the third Test
at the Gabba.

Ashwin was not selected for Brisbane, which appeared to be the final straw
for the 38-year-old.