Ex Aussie Spinner REVEALS THIS Australia Tactic Which Forced Rohit Sharma To Opt Out From Sydney Test

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Kerry O'Keeffe, ex Australia spinner highlighted Australia's effective strategy of targeting and neutralizing key players of visiting teams, which has proven successful over the past year.

Australia recently secured the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a commanding 3-1 victory over India in the five-match Test series.

O'Keeffe specifically pointed out Australia's challenges against Jasprit Bumrah, who earned the Player of the Series award for his remarkable tally of 32 wickets.

Despite their struggles with Bumrah, O'Keeffe mentioned how Australia managed to unsettle Indian captain Rohit Sharma, leading to his withdrawal from the final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

"They couldn't bring down (Jasprit) Bumrah. He was too good. But then the baton was passed to Rohit Sharma, and they brought him down straight away, to the extent that he withdrew from the final Test," O'Keeffe told Fox Sports.

He elaborated on Australia's tactic of putting pressure on opposition captains, emphasizing how this empowers the team. "So that's a tactic they seem to want to do if they can, if they can break the skipper and make him anonymous, it empowers them," O'Keeffe added.

The victory in Sydney not only sealed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for Australia but also guaranteed their place in the World Test Championship final, where they will face South Africa at Lord's later this year. O'Keeffe praised Australia for consistently putting visiting captains under pressure, including India's Rohit Sharma, Pakistan's Shan Masood, West Indies' Kraigg Brathwaite, and New Zealand's Tim Southee.

"But if you look at the captains they've brought down in recent times, Sharma. Tick. Shan Masood with Pakistan. It was three-nil. Kraigg Brathwaite, it was one-all, but they were on top of Kraigg. They went to New Zealand and brought down Tim Southee, winning two-nil," he further added.

Rohit Sharma had a poor outing in the series, managing only 31 runs in three matches at an average of 6.20 before opting out of the final Test. Under his captaincy, India has lost five of their last six Tests, adding to his struggles in the longest format.