On May 7, Rohit Sharma, the cricket legend, announced his retirement from Test fixtures. According to a recent source, the 38-year-old had intended to retire on June 20, midway through India’s five-match Test tour of England.
Rohit amassed 4,301 runs at an average of 40.57 while participating in 67 Test matches.
In all formats, he had been captaining the Indian squad from February 2022. Last year, however, Suryakumar Yadav took over as the right-handed hitter stepped away from T20I cricket. India will now only be led by the Mumbai batsman in the ODI format.
As per a source, Rohit intended to retire halfway through the England trip, following in the footsteps of MS Dhoni, who relinquished his captaincy to Virat Kohli. But for the England tour, the selectors sought leadership consistency, so they told Rohit that while he may be in the squad, he would not be the captain. Because of this, the seasoned batter decided to end his red-ball career right now. After five days, Kohli followed his long-time pal into retirement from Test cricket.
Indian selectors undecided about Test captaincy after Gill, Pant talks
Regarding Rohit’s replacement as Test squad captain, the selectors have been unable to reach a consensus. Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, and Shubman Gill were all initially considered, but according to reports, the latter ruled himself out after failing to guarantee his attendance at all five Test matches in the UK.
According to the same source, one of the selectors is hesitant to give Gill the captaincy since he hasn’t yet met his standards and established himself as a member of the Test team. It was proposed that the 25-year-old top-order batsman would benefit more from serving as vice-captain at this time.
In 32 Test matches, Shubman has amassed 1,893 runs at an average of 35.05. He has a respectable away Test average of 27.53. Rishabh Pant, meanwhile, has amassed 2,948 runs at an average of 42.11 from 43 Test matches, including hundreds in South Africa, England, and Australia.
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