What followed after only reaffirmed the speculations. Gambhir was having a long chat with Jasprit Bumrah just outside the SCG dressing room while the team and Sharma were warming up in the middle. Once it was all done, the slip cordon looked different with Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Nitish Reddy and Yashasvi Jaiswal standing alongside Rishabh Pant. Amidst all this, Gill, who was left out of the Boxing Day Test, was patted on the back by Gambhir before having what seemed like a congratulatory handshake with Bumrah. He then went on to train for slip catch against spinners.
Sharma, after warming up, left for the dressing room while the rest hit the nets. Even as Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja were batting in outdoor nets, Sharma could be seen talking to Washington Sundar, who seems likely to miss out on Friday. A little while later, he was having a prolonged chat with Bumrah and Gill. Even as they and the rest of the team were having a hit in the outdoor nets, Sharma was nowhere to be seen. It was only after some time he walked in without his kit, and was standing and having a chat with team analyst and Bumrah. Virat Kohli, on the other hand, was having a chat with chief selector Ajit Agarkar.
Meanwhile, the regular top seven and Dhruv Jurel had an intense hit in the nets. After almost an hour, Sharma left for the dressing room only to come back all padded up. He batted for a while with Tanush Kotiyan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and Reddy but took only throw-downs and did not face any bowlers. It went on for about half an hour before Sharma left the nets with Bumrah and Agarkar. After that Jurel once again came in and had another brief stint in the nets.
It was about 6.50 PM. The team was all but done with their training and were getting ready to leave. In one corner of the SCG dugout were Sharma and Bumrah sitting together while Gambhir was standing next to them. The captain, vice-captain and head coach had a discussion that went on for a little over five minutes. Shortly after they picked up their bags and left.
Now, Gambhir has already confirmed that Akash Deep is ruled out due to back spasm and the only, and perhaps, the biggest question of the day was whether Sharma will play or not.
At this point, it should be a surprise if he does. One of the top Test openers in the world between 2019-2024, Sharma was India’s best top-order batter in that phase. Since taking over captaincy, he led India to the 2023 World Test Championship final, and drew series in South Africa while beating England and Australia at home. Things went downhill from the 0-3 loss against New Zealand at home and since then, Sharma has not been able to turn things around both with the bat and in terms of results for the team. At 37, he will be 38 when India play their next Test after Sydney, one has to wait and see whether he would want to continue in the longer format going forward.
For now, it seems like Bumrah will be back at the helm in Sydney, trying to help India draw the series, retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and have a chance at qualifying for the World Test Championship final.
