In a massive development, veteran Indian batter Rohit Sharma has announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect. The news comes hours after an Indian Express report claimed that the 38-year-old will not captain in the five-Test tour of England that will begin on June 20 as the selectors hunt for a new captain.
The 38-year-old’s performance during the five-Test tour of Australia had come under intense scrutiny. In the three Tests he played, the right-hander had managed only 31 runs at a woeful average of 6.20 alongside a best of 10 and India lost all of them. Rohit also claimed to have dropped himself from the final Test in Sydney but strongly denied any notions of retiring from the format.
rRohit Sharma’s Instagram story. | (Credits: Instagram)
However, the veteran uploaded a story on Instagram and wrote the following by uploading a picture of his Test cap:
“Hello everyone, I would like to share that I’m 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 Sharma captained India in 24 Tests since succeeding Virat Kohli in 2022
Meanwhile, the right-handed batter, who succeeded Virat Kohli as Test captain, skippered the side in 24 Tests, winning 12 and losing 9. As far as his performance with the bat goes, Rohit made 4301 runs in 67 Tests at 40.57.
However, it was also under his captaincy that India lost their first Test series at home since 2012 when New Zealand blanked them 3-0 last year. It followed with India relinquishing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. With Rohit captaining India to Champions Trophy victory earlier this year, he will hope to play in the 2027 World Cup.
