BCCI Photo
HAMILTON: Around 2:30 PM local time, 30 minutes before the official start time for the third ODI, the Indian team bus arrived at the Seddon Park in Hamilton. After a long chat, Rohit sprinted to the stadium and did not return for close to 15 minutes. When it was announced on the PA, the fans quickly rushed out to position themselves near the team bus, for the third time that day, and another surprise was in store.
When the doors opened, the assembled Indian fans were in for a surprise. With their phones pointed to the bus, expecting the entire squad to emerge, the first, and only, player to emerge for a discussion with the local and India’s operations teams was former India captain Rohit Sharma . With the door closed, the players continued to sit inside waiting for the go-ahead from the team management. Rohit finally returned to the bus amid loud chants but none of the players got down as another discussion ensued. It was later learnt that if the players had entered the Players and Match Officials Area (PMOA), they wouldn’t have been allowed to exit and re-enter as per the guidelines. So a decision to return to the team hotel was taken as drizzle continued and the ground remained far from ready. The rest of the BlackCaps players who had arrived by their own cars, also waited outside the venue. When they didn’t get the necessary go-ahead, they also began driving back to the team hotel. When the weather finally cleared and the outfield was prepared in lightning-quick time, the Indian team bus returned. Meanwhile, Rohit beat the pack as he travelled with New Zealand players in their car. Rohit would occasionally emerge from the dressing room to wave to his daughter in the stands and gestured to Gill Sr but even that didn’t last long as the rain got heavier, forcing the players indoors and leaving match officials with the formal announcement to abandon the contest. Virat Kohli , amid loud chants of “Radhe! Radhe!”, left in a private car with Gill, Ishan Kishan and Naman Dhir. Even Rohit ditched the team bus and left in a car while the rest, featuring Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, coach Gambhir, boarded the team bus to end the long day of waiting and rain.
Before the team bus could get going for the Indian team hotel, having waited for over half-an-hour, captain Shubman Gill , coach Gautam Gambhir and other support staff members joined New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner.