Rohit Sharma retires from Test cricket ahead of England tour, promises to continue in ODIs

Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Test captaincy. The Board of Control for Cricket in Indian (BCCI) was set to axe Rohit Sharma as the Test captain ahead of the five-match tour to England. Ahead of that, Rohit has announced his decision to call his time from the longest format of the game.

Recently, in Michael Clarke’s podcast, Rohit expressed excitement to lead Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami in the series against England. Ahead of that, in the fifth Test against Australia, Rohit mentioned that he is eager to continue but the board wasn’t impressed with his red-ball numbers. The 38-year-old struggled to get going in the home series against New Zealand and also struggled in Australia, where he was forced to drop himself at one stage.

Notably, Rohit announced the decision on his Instagram, thanking all the support. He also noted to continue in ODI cricket.

“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,” Rohit said.

It is now unclear on who can replace Rohit at the helm of things. Shubman Gill’s name has been heavily discussed in recent times but in Rohit’s absence, Jasprit Bumrah has led the team and won against Australia in Adelaide. However, the selectors may hesitate to name him as a full-time Test captain, given his fitness concerns. Apart from them, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul remain two options that the board can consider. 

Meanwhile, Rohit made his Test debut against West Indies in November 2013 at the iconic Eden Gardens. He scored 177 runs on his debut as India won the match by an innings and 51 runs. Notably, it was also Sachin Tendulkar’s penultimate game in Test cricket. Overall, he has played 67 Test matches, scoring 4301 runs at an average of 40.57.