Rohit Sharma said Saturday he stepped down from the playing lineup ahead of the fifth Border-Gavaskar Trophy due to his poor form with the bat.

The India captain, who had scored just 31 runs in five innings in the series, explained his decision during a conversation with the team’s coach and selectors.

“The chat I had was very simple. I said I am not scoring runs and we need players who are scoring runs in this important match,” Rohit said during the lunch break on day two of the match. “They backed me, it was a difficult decision to stand down, but it was a sensible one. I just thought about what I should do for the team.”

Calls to drop Rohit grew as India trailed 1-2 heading into the final Test of the series. On the eve of the match, India head coach Gautam Gambhir said the team would assess conditions before making a final call on Rohit’s inclusion.

Rohit admitted that he had been thinking about the decision for some time. “I took this decision in Sydney. We just had two days after the Melbourne Test, but it had been on my mind. You have to accept it at times when you cannot score runs even if you try your best,” he said.

Rohit missed the Perth Test after the birth of his child but joined the team for the Pink-ball Test in Adelaide. Reflecting on his return to the team, Rohit spoke highly of the partnership between Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, which helped India secure a match-winning position in the Adelaide Test.

Despite stepping down for the fifth Test, Rohit dismissed any links to retirement. “I do not get ahead of myself. I do not think of things five months down the line,” he said. “This is not a retirement decision. I am just out because I am out of form. You never know what happens in the future. I might start scoring, I might not. But I believe I can come back.”

Rohit also addressed media reports suggesting a rift in the Indian dressing room, stating that the players are focused on their game. “All our boys are made of steel. We cannot control what is out of our hands,” he said.

When asked about the future of the Test captaincy, Rohit said it was too early to name a successor, pointing to the young age of many of the team’s players. “Let them play some hard-fought cricket for the next few years,” he added.