sydney It is very important for any captain to understand the temperament of the twenty-two yard pitch on which victory or defeat is decided. The sooner one solves the puzzle of the pitch, the greater becomes a captain. That is, the decision of what to do after understanding the pitch determines the course of the match. But an incident happened in Indian cricket which decided the future of the captain and now after twenty years, what did the captain do in Sydney?
This is a big question in everyone’s mind.
The Indian captains of 2004 and 2025 have one thing in common that both of them refused to play the match. The only difference between Sourav Ganguly in 2004 and Rohit Sharma in 2025 is that one made fitness an issue and the other on form. But experts believe that both Sourav Ganguly and Rohit Sharma understood the pitch.
Sourav in 2004, Sharma ji in 2025!
Let’s start the story from 2025 when the captain happily walks across the pitch during the practice session in Sydney and when he/she returns to the dressing room, he/she has many questions in his/her mind. he/she silently withdraws himself from the practice session and drops himself in the name of poor form. If sources are to be believed, Rohit had read the pitch at first glance and had realized that scoring runs here would be no less than crossing a river of fire. Now if we look at the score, it becomes clear that Rohit did not want to add another bad test to his/her record. The Indian first innings was limited to 185 runs and the second innings was limited to 157 runs. The test match ended in two and a half days.
Now let us come to another similar story which happened in Nagpur in the year 2004. Tiara of the 4 test match series between India and Australia reached Nagpur to play the test. Australia was ahead 0-1 after winning the first test of the series. After reaching Nagpur, when the Indian team reached the field for practice, captain Sourav turned red with anger after seeing the greenery on the pitch. The board immediately came into action but the problem was that there was tension between BCCI and Vidarbha Cricket Association, so the pitch was not changed. Then captain Sourav decided not to play the match keeping in mind the grass on the pitch and the bowling of McGrath, Gillespie and Kosprowicz and gave a statement that he/she would not play the match due to hamstring injury. Even then the Indian team lost the match in three days and the Australian media made fun of Sourav for not playing.
How right is it for the captain to leave the field?
Just as captain Sourav Ganguly’s decision not to play the match citing fitness reasons in 2004 was always under question, similarly Rohit Sharma’s decision to not play the match citing his/her form will always be remembered. Both times, Australia was in front of you, who will keep making fun of you for who knows how many years. Just as a war cannot be won on the battlefield without a commander, similarly a match cannot be won on the battlefield without a captain. You cannot expect a part time captain to work like a full time leader. That is why experts believe that even if the captain is out of form or not 100% fit, his/her presence on the field keeps the pressure on the opposition. The India Australia series of 2004 and 2024 will also be remembered because the captain did not play in the middle series and the series was lost to the guests.
tag: Border Gavaskar Trophy, india vs australia, Rohit Sharma, saurav ganguly, sydney test
first published : January 5, 2025, 08:25 IST
