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Indian cricket team wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant weighed in on to the heated exchange between Jasprit Bumrah and Australian opener Sam Konstas on Day 1 of the fifth Test match in Sydney. In the final moments of the day, both cricketers got embroiled in a heated argument but it was the India pacer who had the last laugh as he dismissed Usman Khawaja on the very next delivery. Pant said that he did not hear what Konstas exactly said to Bumrah but commented that the Australia youngster wanted to waste time in order to prevent India from bowling another over on Day 1 of the must-win encounter.
"I feel they had a little chitchat; they wanted to waste some time. I feel that's the reason Konstas had a conversation with Jasprit Bumrah. He said something; I didn't hear it. But I feel that's the only thing which he wanted to do—waste some time so we don't get to bowl one more over," Pant told reporters.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma's decision to "opt" out of the ongoing fifth Test against Australia was "bizarre" as it sends wrong signals and the regular skipper deserved "more respect" from the team management, reckoned former India opener Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Grappling with poor form, Rohit "opted to rest" from the Sydney Test, handing over the leadership duties to Jasprit Bumrah. The move also paved the way for Shubman Gill's inclusion in the crucial match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
"A Captain should never be dropped midstream nor given the option to opt out … sends wrong signals," Sidhu wrote in a post shared on 'X'.
Rohit, who missed the opening Test at Perth to be present for the birth of his second baby, has scored only 31 runs across five innings in three Tests.
"Have seen Captains like Mark Taylor, Azharuddin etc persisted as captain for a year despite bad form … @ImRo45 deserved more respect and faith from the management … Bizarre coz it happened for the first time in Indian cricket history …. Blunder - for a fallen lighthouse is more dangerous than a reef!," he added.