Rohit Sharma on Wednesday announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect ending all speculations about his future in the longest format and leaving India in the need of a new captain for the upcoming five-match series against England.
The 38-year-old was India's most prolific Test batter in the second half of his career, scoring 4301 runs in 67 Tests with 12 hundreds and 18 half centuries at an average of 40.57.
'Hello everyone, I would just like to share that I am retiring from Test cricket. It's been an absolute honour to represent my country in whites.
'Thank you for all the love and support over the years. I will continue to represent India in the ODI format,' he posted on Instagram with a picture of his Test cap.
Rohit captained India to the World Test Championship final against Australia and had a fairly decent run in the format save the last couple of indifferent series against New Zealand at home and the Border-Gavaskar showdown against Australia earlier this year.
India will have a new Test captain for the five-Test series in England starting June 20 with possible candidates being Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant. Bumrah captained the side in a couple of Tests during the tour of Australia.
Rohit endured a particularly difficult run during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy where he had to drop himself from the playing XI owing to poor form but he had ruled out retirement at that stage.
There was also widespread speculation about his differences with Head Coach Gautam Gambhir, who had vowed to end the "star culture" in Indian cricket after taking charge last year in July.
Both steadfastly denied the chatter but Gambhir has time and again made it clear that only performance would ensure selection in the team.
The highlight of Rohit's Test captaincy was without doubt India reaching the final of the World Test Championship in 2023, losing to Australia eventually. It was the same year in which the team lost in the final of the ODI World Cup as well, once again to Australia.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Indian Express reported that the selectors of the Indian cricket team had decided to strip Rohit Sharma from Test captaincy.
'The selectors’ thought process is clear. They want a new leader for the England tour and Rohit doesn’t fit in as a captain, especially considering his red-ball form. They want to groom a young leader for the next Test cycle and the selection committee has informed the BCCI that Rohit won’t lead the team,' The Indian Express quoted a source as saying.
In a recent chat on former Australian captain Michael Clarke’s podcast, Beyond 23, Rohit had talked about his excitement in leading an attack with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj in England.
But Rohit's deplorable form in red-ball in red-ball cricket may have forced this decision.
During India's tour to Australia in 2024-25, he averaged just 6.20 in five innings. He didn’t travel to Australia last year for the first Test in Perth due to the birth of his second child and Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul opened the innings.
When he returned for the second Test, Rohit demoted himself in the batting order, before returning as opener for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. He eventually dropped himself for the final Test in Sydney.
In the home Test series against New Zealand prior to that, he averaged just 15.16 in three Tests.
On May 6, head coach Gautam Gambhir had said any decision regarding Rohit’s future iwould be taken by the selectors.
'First things first, a coach’s job isn’t selecting the team. It is the job of the selectors to select. The coach only selects the 11 who will play a match. Neither those who coached before me were selectors nor am I a selector,' Gambhir said at ABP News India At 2047 Summit.
'Till the time they (Rohit and Virat Kohli) are performing, they should be a part of the team. When you start and when you end is your individual decision. No coach, no selector, no BCCI can tell you when you should call it quits. If you perform, then why 40, you can jolly well play till 45, who’s stopping you?' he added.
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