Rohit Sharma's decision to open in the Boxing Day Test against Australia at MCG faced criticism after he scored only 31 runs in five innings, disrupting KL Rahul and Shubman Gill's positions. Aakash Chopra criticized Rohit for prioritizing his interests over the team's,

Former India opener Aakash Chopra said Rohit Sharma prioritised himself over the team's best interests for the first time in his captaincy career when he returned to open the batting and left out Shubman Gill from the XI in Melbourne.

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra, on his YouTube show, highlighted that it was the first instance of Sharma taking a self-interest decision. "For the first time, captain Rohit took a call and it was totally in his interests.