Our Bureau
Mumbai
Indian Captain, Rohit Sharma took to his Instagram on 7th May 2025 and announced his retirement from test cricket with immediate effect. The announcement came in moments after the news of him being sacked as the captain of the Indian red-ball squad went viral.
Rohit put up a story on his Instagram which said, “Hello everyone, I would just like to share that I am retiring from Test cricket. It’s been an absolute honor 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.”
Although always considered a white ball savant, Rohit’s test numbers are nothing short of impressive. The 38-year-old was a late bloomer in the red ball format debuting in 2013, six years after his white ball debut. In the 67 career games that he played, Rohit scored 4301 runs at an average of 40.57 with 12 centuries and 18 half-centuries to his name. He is currently the leading run-scorer for India in the ICC World Test Championship with 2716 runs to his name in 40 games played across the 3 editions of the championship.
This decision of taking retirement has come out before the start of India’s new test cycle which will kick off with India’s tour of England beginning on 20th June 2025. The questions were raised on Rohit’s position following the losses against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year as well as the whitewash against New Zealand at home. Rohit’s batting form was also at an all-time low as he failed to perform to his best potential with just one half-century to show for in the last 8 matches that he played.
It was further reported that Ajit Agarkar and his selection committee are looking past Sharma and are looking forward to grooming a young leader in this upcoming Test Championship cycle. Jasprit Bumrah, who captained India in Rohit’s absence in two test matches in Australia last year will be the front-runner to be named the next captain. Although Bumrah’s name has been at the forefront of discussions, other players like Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant will also be in contention to receive the captaincy honors in the longest format of the game.
