Rohit Sharma has stepped away from Test cricket, leaving fans in shock
Rohit Sharma has stepped away from Test cricket, leaving fans in shock
Rohit Sharma, popularly known as Hitman, will retire from Test cricket after a legendary career with 4301 runs and 12 centuries.
Rohit Sharma has decided to retire from Test cricket with immediate effect, and he took to social media to announce the news and confirmed that he will be continuing playing in ODIS.
He said on social media that he would like to inform all his fans that he is retiring from Test cricket. He said that he feels honoured to represent the country in White. He thanked everyone for the love and support he received over the years. However, he also ratified that he is not leaving the ODI Format.
He made this decision after playing cricket for over 11 years, during which he played 67 test matches in which he was also captaining for 24 since taking over the team’s responsibility from Virat Kohli in 2022. He completed his test journey with 4301 runs which also include 12 centuries.
Rohit’s retirement comes just before India's upcoming tour of England, where they are set to play five Test matches. The squad selection will happen soon, and there will be a new captain. In his last Test captaincy assignment in Australia, Rohit had to sit out at one point due to his poor form. India lost the series 3-1, and the Boxing Day Test at the MCG late last year was his final match.
Rohit was initially supposed to make his Test debut in the 2010 Nagpur Test against South Africa, but he got a freak injury just before the toss. It took another three years for him to play in the Kolkata Test against the West Indies in 2013, where he scored a century. He followed that with another century in the next Test in Mumbai.
However, after this promising start, Rohit struggled for five years in Test cricket, managing only one hundred during that time, which came in the Nagpur Test of 2017 against Sri Lanka. His red-ball career took a turn in 2019 when he opened the batting against South Africa in a three-match series, scoring two centuries and even a double hundred - a 212 in Ranchi.
He had more success against England in 2021, scoring a brilliant 161 on a tricky pitch in Chennai and another important 127 in India’s victory at The Oval. He scored two more centuries against England in 2024 as he guided a young team to a surprising 4-1 series win. However, after averaging 45.46 at the start of the 2024-25 season, his performance dropped, with only one score over 50 in 15 innings, leading to a decline in his average by four points.
His captaincy also suffered as India lost 0-3 to New Zealand, marking the first time they lost a home series in 12 years. Overall, under his leadership, India had a record of 12 wins and 9 losses.