The former skipper retired on May 7.
On May 7, former India skipper Rohit Sharma took to his Instagram to announce his retirement from Test cricket. He uploaded a picture of his Test cap with a retirement message.
The message read, “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.”
Rohit has done wonders in his Test career spanning 11 years. In 67 Tests, he made 4,301 runs, including 12 centuries. However, choosing to retire on social media has received criticism from former India batter Manoj Tiwary.
He told Cricbuzz, “If Rohit Sharma had retired not on social media but on the field after playing, it would have been a more fitting send-off. It would’ve felt better for all of us, too.”
The Bengal batter also highlighted how Rohit is popular among the junior players. Tiwary believes that playing one more game and retiring in the whites would have been better for the players and the fans.
“He was a very popular leader among this group of boys. If you see, even the young players wanted to play under him. We always hear them say in their interviews, ‘I really enjoyed playing under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy,’” Tiwary added.
Notably, Tiwary himself hasn’t played under Rohit’s captaincy. Featuring in 12 ODIs and three T20Is for India, the 39-year-old has played under four captains – MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, and Ajinkya Rahane.
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Rohit Sharma’s batting spot can be easily occupied by another batter from India’s vast talent pool. If Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul open the Test innings, the No.3 spot can be given to Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, and many more options to choose from.
However, the leadership spot will hurt India the most. Virat Kohli is in the twilight of his career, making it not ideal to have him as captain in the long run. Jasprit Bumrah led the side during the 2024–25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Rohit Sharma’s absence. However, he has now withdrawn from captaincy consideration, reportedly due to concerns over his injury-prone bowling action.
Subsequently, a PTI report suggested that KL Rahul may not be the ideal candidate for the role, citing his age (33) and inconsistent batting form.
According to other reports, India is likely to choose between Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant for the Test captaincy. The team’s next assignment is a five-match Test series in England, beginning June 20.
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