Gambhir makes bold statement on Rohit, Kohli's Test future

India coach Gautam Gambhir said veteran batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli still have a future in the team if they want it, despite disappointing returns on the Test tour of Australia.

The tourists went down 3-1 in the series after losing the fifth Test by six wickets on Sunday to relinquish the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade.

Regular Test captain Rohit was rested for the match at his own request after poor returns in the second, third and fourth matches, while Kohli made 17 and six in his two innings in Sydney.

In an interview with broadcaster Star Sports on Saturday, Rohit denied making any decision on his Test retirement, saying he only wanted to give another player a chance in the final Test of the series.

On Sunday, Gambhir said it's up to the players to decide their future.

"I can't talk about the future of any player, it's up to them as well," Gambhir said.

"What I can say is that they still have the hunger, they still have the passion. They are tough people, and hopefully they can continue to take Indian cricket forward.

"But ultimately, whatever they plan, they will plan for the best interests of Indian cricket."

While the 37-year-old Rohit made just 31 runs in three Test matches, Kohli, 36, scored 190 runs in five matches at an average of 23.75.

His only meaningful contribution came in the first Test at Perth when he scored a century (100 not out) in the second innings, helping the team win the Test.

But he failed to make any good contributions in the remaining matches with scores of 7, 11 (Adelaide), 3 (Brisbane), 36, 5 (Melbourne) and 17, and 6 (Sydney) now raising serious question marks about his Test future.

Australia skipper Pat Cummins said it would be sad if Kohli, who has hit only three Test centuries in last four years, played the last Test of his career.

"It has always been a wonderful contest with Virat. It is more than runs. Sometimes, it is the theatre. The boys really enjoyed playing with him," said the Australian captain whose bowling attack repeatedly exploited Kohli's weakness against off-stump deliveries during the series.

"I have always really enjoyed playing with him. You know, he is been one of the star batters for the last decade or so. So, you know, if you get his wicket it goes a long way to winning a game. So, yeah, I would be sad if it is his last series."

Meanwhile, Gambhir was loathe to blame the Sydney defeat on stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah's inability to bowl in the second innings because of a back complaint, even if he said the fast bowler had been "absolutely outstanding" over the rest of the series.

"It would have been nice if he would have been there, but we still had five bowlers, and a good team is one which is not dependent on one individual," he said.

• Australia win riveting fifth India Test to take series 3-1