PM Modi conferred Saudi’s highest civilian honour

Speculations over the future of Indian captain Rohit Sharma intensified on the eve of the final BGT Test at Sydney. Coach Gautam Gambhir, turning up for the pre-match press conference, said Rohit's place in the playing XI will be decided after having a look at the pitch on the morning of the match. When asked if Rohit was playing the Sydney Test, Gambhir said: "We shall look at the pitch and take a call tomorrow". The Indian skipper is averaging 6.20 in the ongoing series. Rohit's long run slump and a series of lame dismissals in the first four Tests of the BGT have been the reasons, his place in the side has been questioned in the media. On eve of the final Test at Sydney, just before the start of the pre-game press conference, coach Gautam Gambhir was seen having a long discussion with the team's senior player Jasprit Bumrah. Rohit too would join them soon. After the press conference, Gambhir would resume his discussion with Bumrah, who led the team at Perth, the only Test that India won. Meanwhile, Rohit was on the ground playing football, the team's warm-up drill, with the rest of the pitch. India still has a chance to draw the series 2-2 and retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy but Rohit's form is a cause of worry for the team management. Since September last year, his scoring sequence has been 6, 5, 23, 8, 2, 52, 0, 8, 18, 11, 3, 6, 10, 3, 9. Rohit missed the first Test due to the birth of his second child. KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal who opened the batting for India in Perth put on a 201-run opening stand which laid the foundation for Indian eventually. Once Rohit returned he pushed himself to number six. However, for the Melbourne Test he pushed himself back as an opener but his poor run of form continued as he scored 3 and 9 in the Test match.