Indian media reports on Wednesday revealed that Rohit Sharma, India’s Test captain, has decided to retire from red-ball cricket with immediate effect.
The announcement reportedly came shortly after speculation emerged suggesting that Rohit was to be removed from his Test leadership role. These reports indicated that while he might be relieved of captaincy duties, he was expected to stay in the squad for India’s upcoming tour of England.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had chosen to support the selectors’ proposed changes. If confirmed, Rohit’s exit from Tests will leave selectors searching for both a new opening batter and a fresh leader for the format.
During his Test career, Rohit scored 4,301 runs at an average of 40.57, including 12 hundreds and 18 fifties. He led India to the final of the World Test Championship (WTC), but his struggles in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia last year, where he managed only 31 runs across five innings, cast doubts on his future in the format.
Meanwhile, Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir recently addressed the future of senior players like Rohit and Virat Kohli in the Test setup. Speaking on Tuesday, Gambhir stated that selection should be based solely on performance.
“As long as they are delivering results, their spot in the team shouldn’t be questioned,” Gambhir said, adding that the timing of a player’s retirement should be their own choice, not dictated by selectors, coaches, or even the board.
