‘I wasn’t there personally to…’ did Rohit Sharma hint at lack of communication with team management over playing XI in Perth?

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was addressing the media ahead of the 2nd Test match versus Australia. During the press conference, Rohit Sharma was asked if R. Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja would feature in the game on Friday. Team management had gone ahead with Washington Sundar as the sole spinner for the game in Perth. 

Rohit Sharma replied, “I wasn’t there personally to break the news to Ashwin and Jadeja that they won’t be playing at Perth. The management went with the best team they thought that suited that pitch. These two will play a role in the rest of the series. They have been massive to India’s record in the past. We shall look at the pitches and decide.”

On Wednesday, Australian spinner Nathan Lyon had expressed surprise over Ashwin and Jadeja not playing in Perth. The 37-year-old had said, “That's the quality of the Indian cricketers they've got in their squad. Ashwin has over 530 wickets and Ravi Jadeja with more than 300 wickets. So it's pretty remarkable to see the quality of players that are sitting on the bench, but I can't control who they run out."

Pat Cummins dismisses talk of divide in the team 

Meanwhile, there were reports that there was a divide in the Australian side after losing the Perth Test by 295 runs. Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood, while speaking to the media, said, “You probably have to ask one of the batters that question. I'm sort of relaxing and trying to get a bit of physio and a bit of treatment, and I'm probably looking mostly towards the next Test and what plans we can do against these batters."

Pat Cummins dismissed all the reports of a rift and said to the media, “Yeah, look team's great. Some of the commentators got that 100 per cent wrong. So, the team's great, we have prepared like we always do, and get around each other. It's a great feeling around the team. So yeah, we don't make too much of it."

Former India coach Ravi Shastri while speaking to ICC review said that Rohit Sharma should bat at number 5. Indian skipper on Thursday confirmed that KL Rahul is set to open the batting and his decision to move down the order is for the sake of the team. 

Ravi Shastri while speaking to ICC Review said, “It’s the right mix of experience and youth in the setup, so whether he opens the batting or goes in the middle order, the choice is his. He’s experienced enough to see where he’s most dangerous when it comes to Australia. Where would Australia not like to see him? That’s the position he should choose. And he’s the leader of the pack, so he can afford to do that.”