Indian skipper Rohit Sharma finally broke his silence on skipping the ongoing Sydney Test against Australia when he said it should not be considered a retirement decision.

Rohit Sharma made the comment amid buzz over his retirement since Australia defeated India in the Melbourne Test and nearly ended the chance to qualify for the World Test Championship final.

Sharma expressed confidence that 'things can change' and those with a 'mic, pen or laptop can't decide when we should retire'.

"This decision is not a retirement decision," Sharma, under whose leadership India won the T20 World Cup last year,  told Star Sports.

Sharma said he decided to sit on the bench in the fifth game since he was unable to deliver with the bat.

Jasprit Bumrah is leading the squad in his absence.

"I sat out of this match because runs are not coming off my bat," Sharma said.

"There is no guarantee runs won't come five or two months down the line. I have seen a lot in cricket that life changes every second, every minute, every day," he said.

Sharma said: "I have confidence in me that things can change, but at the same time I have to be realistic as well. So life won't change by what people with a mic, pen or laptop write or say. They can't decide when we should retire, when we should sit out, when we should captain."

Sharma missed the first Test of the ongoing series as he took paternity leave.

Under Bumrah's leadership, India had won the match to take 1-0 lead.

Australia later bounced back and took 2-1 lead in the Border Gavaskar Trophy which India has been holding for nearly a decade.

India need to win the last Test to retain the trophy.