Veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has questioned why India captain Rohit Sharma’s decision to opt out of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 fifth Test wasn’t made public earlier as well. He added that the delayed information led to contrasting speculations about his place in the team as well.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra’, he said, “If it was decided, why wasn’t it informed earlier? Why so many sources about the news coming from the dressing room? Someone was saying he had been dropped and others were saying he was opting out. Rohit should have himself come and said that he wasn’t playing or Gautam could have said it. Announce it officially. That makes it a dignified process and everyone celebrates it because it’s unprecedented in Indian cricket that you sit out as a captain because you feel your form is not good for the team. Rohit Sharma has done that. So he has set a huge example and that should have been celebrated, but it will only be celebrated when someone informs.”

ALSO READ: “Shubman’s captaincy is very good” – Ravi Bishnoi on Shubman Gill

In the same video, Aakash Chopra shared that Rohit Sharma made the right decision to opt out of the Sydney Test.

“Was the decision not to play right or wrong? I feel it was the right decision because you were not gaining anything. He is looking out of form and it’s not about now. It has been continuous, which includes the two series in India and then this series. It’s not looking great. For once in his life, he thought about himself and didn’t think about the team that much. That was the last Test match when he decided to open. The batting order had to be changed a lot and people were made to sit out. But that also didn’t work out and when that happens, you say you would do what is right for the team because Rohit has done that many times,” Aakash Chopra concluded.