Rohit Sharma Opts For Fifth Test At SCG, Jasprit Bumrah Captain, Gautam Gambhir Press Conference, Video, Indian Express Report, Border Gavaskar Trophy, Latest News

India captain Rohit Sharma has been officially suspended from the Sydney Test after reports that he has withdrawn from the case in a bizarre end to the country's selection drama.

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It was stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah who represented India in the toss on Friday morning and confirmed heavy speculation on Thursday after coach Gautam Gambhir, who replaced Rohit for the scheduled media event, refused to confirm whether the out-of-form skipper would play in Sydney. .

Bumrah, captaining his second Test this Australian summer, won the toss and elected to bat on a green SCG wicket.

This was reported by the Indian Express the night before the Test that Rohit was to be rested for the match after telling his coach and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar about his decision not to play.

However, this was followed by more Indian reports claiming that Sharma had been dropped for the final Test of the series, rather than making the decision himself.

The Times of India reported that Sharma was dropped, while a separate report by PTI claims that Gambhir had even turned down a request from an influential cricket administrator to keep him in the team.

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Rohit has produced the worst batting average by a touring captain in Australia in history (minimum five matches), with the 38-year-old achieving scores of 3, 6, 10, 3 and 9. India won the first Test without him, with Jasprit Bumrah led the team and has since lost twice and drawn once.

Banned opener Shubman Gill has taken Rohit's place in the XI, batting at three behind KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal, with Prasidh Krishna replacing the injured Akash Deep (back).

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When asked why Sharma was not present on Thursday, Gambhir replied: Everything is fine with Rohit.

The head coach is here. That should be fine. That should be good enough.

We would look at the wicket tomorrow and finalize the basics (the starting XI).

When asked if Sharma would play the Sydney Test, he continued: I just said we would look at the wicket and announce a playing 11 tomorrow. The answer remains the same.

Later on Thursday afternoon, Sharma did not play in the slip cordon as India trained in the SCG outfield, with superstar teammate Virat Kohli occupying the first slip in his absence.

Australia have taken a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, with India needing nothing short of a win at the SCG to retain the coveted trophy that has been in their possession for almost a decade.

Gambhir stated that he was extremely confident that India could secure victory at the SCG, a venue where Australia has not tasted defeat since 2011.

We know we have the skills, we have the individuals, we have everything in that dressing room to win a Test match here, Ghambir said.

Not just here, (but we can) probably continue to do some incredible things in the future. So very confident.

Meanwhile, Ghambir sidestepped questions about explosive reports of tension and rifts in the dressing room, including claims the coach declared he had had enough after last week's dramatic loss to Australia at the MCG.

Those are just reports. That is not the truth, Gambhir said.

To be honest, I don't think I need to respond to reports.

There were some honest words, that's all I can say. And honesty is very important. Honesty is extremely important if you want to go further and achieve great things.

He continued in Hindi: Debates between a player and a coach should remain between them – all locker room conversations should remain in the locker room.

The fifth Test between Australia and India starts on Friday at the SCG, with the first ball scheduled for 10.30am AEDT.