It has been a turbulent few days for Indian cricket. Rohit Sharma was recently "rested" for the Sydney Test against Australia. However, some believe that the Indian captain was dropped as runs dried him for the 37-year-old. Ahead of the Sydney Test, a bombshell Indian Express report claimed that a senior player is ready to project himself as an interim captain.
The report further claimed that the senior player really wants to be the interim captain and is portraying himself as "Mr Fix-it". Former India batter Robin Uthappa has lashed out at this player, saying if this is true, then the cricketer in question is an "absolute disappointment of a human being."
According to the Indian Express report, the cricketer is not convinced that the youngsters in the squad are ready to take over the leadership role; hence, a senior needs to be at the helm.
"Whoever Mr. Fix-it is, I think, is an absolute disappointment of a human being at this point in time. I think whoever that is, he should be really ashamed of himself at a time when you need to keep the team together to progress a personal agenda is completely, in my opinion, pathetic," Uthappa said in a video posted on his Instagram.
"You don't put yourself ahead of your team irrespective of how bad things are. At that point in time, you actually double down on your team. You double down and say I'll do whatever is required at that point in time," he added.
{{/usCountry}}"You don't put yourself ahead of your team irrespective of how bad things are. At that point in time, you actually double down on your team. You double down and say I'll do whatever is required at that point in time," he added.
{{/usCountry}}'Has to be named and shamed'
Uthappa also said that the time has come to name and shame this player, as mentioned in the report. He opined that the team really needs unity right now, and there is no room for personal agendas to be advanced.
"Whoever this person is, whether it's a senior, not a senior, it does not matter, has to be named and shamed. This has to stop. This level of childishness and personal agenda being driven forward at a time when the team needs more unity has to stop," said Uthappa.
Rohit Sharma is not a part of India's playing XI for the Sydney Test against Australia. Jasprit Bumrah is leading the visitors in his absence.
Rohit has come under harsh criticism over the past few months over his poor string of scores in Tests. The batter registered scores of just 3, 6, 10, 3, and 9 in his five innings Down Under.
Before this, he had scored only 42 runs in four innings against Bangladesh and 91 runs across three games against New Zealand at home.