Indian cricket team wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant weighed in on the heated exchange between Jasprit Bumrah and Australian opener Constas himself on the first day of the fifth Test match in Sydney. In the closing moments of the day, the two cricketers got into a heated argument, but it was the Indian cricketer who had the last laugh when he dismissed Usman Khawaja in the very next delivery. Pant said he did not hear what exactly Constas said to Bumrah, but commented that the young Australian wanted to waste time in order to prevent India from bowling again on the first day of the must-win encounter.
“I feel they had a small conversation; they wanted to waste some time. I feel that is why Constas had a conversation with Jasprit Bumrah. He said something, I did not hear it. But I feel that is the only thing he wanted to do,” Pant told reporters. “What we need to do is waste some time so that we cannot indulge in another one.”
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma’s decision to “opt out” of the ongoing fifth Test against Australia was “strange” as it sends the wrong signals and the regular captain deserves “more respect” from the team management, as former India opener Navjot Singh Sidhu has opined.
Facing poor form, Rohit opted to “rest” from the Sydney Test, handing over the captaincy duties to Jasprit Bumrah. The move also paved the way for Shubman Gill’s inclusion in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy decider.
“A captain should never be dropped midway through or given the option to opt out… sends the wrong signals,” Sidhu wrote in a post shared on ‘X’.
Rohit, who missed the opening Test in Perth to be present for the birth of his second child, has scored just 31 runs across five innings in three Tests.
“I have seen captains like Mark Taylor, Azharuddin etc continue as captain for a year despite poor form… @ImRo45 deserves more respect and faith from the management… Strange as it happened for the first time in the history of Indian cricket…. Big mistake, a collapsed lighthouse is more dangerous than a coral reef!” he added.
