Rohit Sharma opts out of Sydney Test: When was the last time an Indian captain was dropped?

Indian captain Rohit Sharma did not feature in India’s XI for the fifth and final Test match against Australia in Sydney. Jasprit Bumrah, who took Rohit’s place as the Indian skipper, confirmed that the veteran batter had decided to opt out of the match in ‘team interest’. However, Rohit’s name was nowhere to be found in the Indian team Test sheet for the match released by BCCI, suggesting that things were not as rosy as being portrayed.

Has an Indian captain been dropped before? 

Rohit Sharma became the first person in the history of Indian cricket to drop himself from an international series. However, the veteran batter is not the first Indian captain to be dropped from his side with two other 

The first instance of an Indian captain being dropped was back in 1958-59 when Polly Umrigar was axed from the Test side against the West Indies. The second instance occurred when Sourav Ganguly was dropped from the side after a series of low scores and strained relationship with coach Greg Chapell.  

What did Bumrah say about Rohit being dropped? 

Speaking at the toss, Bumrah praised Rohit was showing leadership by opting to rest in the match. He said, “Our captain has shown leadership by opting to rest in this game. That shows there’s a lot of unity in this team. There’s no selfishness. Whatever is in the team’s best interest we are looking to do that. Two changes, Rohit has opted to rest and Akash Deep is injured so Prasidh comes in,”