Long rope for Rohit nears end?

Gambhir refuses to confirm skipper's place in XI; retirement rumours rife

- S KANNAN

Rohit Sharma 'opting out' of the Friday's final Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is a new low.

On Thursday, coach Gautam Gambhir came out and spoke. He looked serious and was also stern. When he spoke of hard stuff and discipline it was clear what appeared in the media on Wednesday in 'dressing room leaks' is true. At the same time, when Gambhir was asked on team composition, he said Akash Deep is out with an injury.

Pressed for the Playing XI, Gambhir said, wait for the toss, "that a call on the playing XI will be taken after looking at the pitch". Surprisingly, Rohit was not at the press conference. By night, Sydney time, it had become public that Rohit himself opted out.

The 'dressing room leaks' has caused a lot of negativity and is bound to lead to stern action as well. It is not that Rohit will be the only one to be 'hit' because of this. He is woefully out of form and does not deserve a place in the playing XI.