I would not have let Rohit miss Sydney Test: Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri would have pushed for Rohit Sharma to play the Sydney Test despite poor form in 2024-25.

Had he been the India coach on the previous tour of Australia, Ravi Shastri would not have allowed captain Rohit Sharma to drop himself from the Sydney Test despite loss of form.

Rohit had missed the first Test for personal reasons and did not feature in the last game of the series, taking a "selfless decision" as he could manage only 31 runs in the five innings he played on that 2024-25 tour.

India had lost the Test series 1-3.

Shastri said he spoke to Rohit during one of the IPL games this season and let him know how he would have handled the situation in Australia.

"I saw Rohit a lot at the toss. At the toss, you don't get enough time to speak. Though I did put my hand on his shoulder in one of the games. I think it was in Mumbai and told him, if I was coach you would have never not played that last Test match.

"You would have played that last Test match because the series wasn't over," Shastri said on the latest edition of the ICC Review.

Rohit recently retired from the Test format, having quit T20 format earlier.