Rohit Sharma’s retirement talks after MCG Test spark rift, leave Gautam Gambhir upset

The fourth Test of the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy was supposed to be Rohit Sharma's final Test of his career. However, as per the freshest developments on the same, there were certain well-wishers who urged him to not retire. This comes several days after the mysterious "opting out" of the final game in Sydney by the top-order batter.

According to a source close to the developments, it is reported that another retirement (after that of Ravichandran Ashwin) could have been witnessed in the series against Australia. 

"Rohit had made up his mind after MCG. Had his well-wishers from outside not force him to change his mind, we could have well seen another retirement in Australia," stated the same source, as quoted by Times of India.

According to the same report, tensions persist between head coach, Gautam Gambhir, and Rohit. The aforementioned decision of his is reported to have not sat well with Gambhir. Notably, Rohit had a change of heart on the eve of the New Year's Test in Sydney. 

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Rohit had had a lackluster run with the bat, scoring only 31 runs in five innings. Some decisions which involved shuffling the batting order as well as defensive tactics intensified the scrutiny on him. For the final Test, Rohit did not even feature in the 15-member squad and ace Indian pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, was handed over the baton of captaincy. 

Rohit, however, seemed to have made up his mind of not leaving the longest format of the game anytime soon. In a carefree interview with broadcaster, Star Sports, during Lunch on Day 2 of the SCT Test, Rohit pointed out that he was sensible enough to take his own decisions that he thought it wasn't ideal for him to be a part of the XI when there were negligible runs coming off his bat.

The next assignment for India would be their white-ball series against England, followed by the Champions Trophy. Rohit, who has retired from T20Is last year, would be keen on getting back to form in the three ODIs against England to gain some confidence for the marquee tournament.