Former India batter Mohammad Kaif criticised Rohit Sharma’s decision to step away from the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, arguing that Rohit should have led the team in the must-win match in Sydney instead of citing poor form and sitting out. Kaif insisted that as captain, Rohit had a responsibility to lead from the front.
Rohit Sharma faced scrutiny for his poor form with the bat during the 2024-25 season. His struggles continued in Australia, where he managed just 31 runs across three Tests before dropping himself for the series decider. While some pundits and former players, including Irfan Pathan, praised Rohit for taking a “selfless” and pragmatic call, Kaif strongly disagreed, stating that the captain should have stood by his team in such a crucial match.
India entered the Sydney Test trailing 1-2 in the series, needing at least a draw to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Instead, they lost the final Test by six wickets, surrendering the trophy for the first time in seven years. Rohit’s absence as a leader was magnified when stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah suffered a back injury in the first innings and was unavailable to bowl or captain on Days 2 and 3. Former skipper Virat Kohli took over the reins on the field, but without Bumrah’s impact with the ball, India failed to defend a target of 162 on a seam-friendly pitch.
“I think Rohit should no longer play in Tests because he was needed the most in the Sydney Test match. I had said he should have played — it would’ve been the right call,” Kaif remarked on his YouTube show.
“He should have played, even if he wasn’t scoring runs. Nobody was scoring runs—not Kohli, not Khawaja, not Labuschagne. Smith found form late in the series. There were no high-scoring matches. Everyone struggled. KL Rahul scored in the beginning but failed later, scoring either a century or a duck. As a leader, that was Rohit Sharma’s moment to stand by his team and be out there.”
Kaif also underlined the importance of Rohit’s leadership and how his absence impacted the team during Bumrah’s injury.
“His absence was felt when Bumrah got injured in the second innings. Rohit Sharma, as a captain, would’ve been there. He has been with the team for two years and knows the players—Siraj, Jadeja, Prasidh Krishna, and Akash Deep. Rohit was familiar with everyone’s roles. But at that crucial moment, there was no one—not Bumrah, not Rohit,” he said.
