Srinagar: Team India captain, Rohit Sharma announced surprise retirement from the longest format of the game on Wednesday evening.
Sharing a photo of his Test cap on Instagram stories, Rohit said, “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.”
India’s next Test assignment is the five-match Test series against England, beginning June 20, and Rohit’s retirement leaves a vacuum in the leadership department.
Given his history with injuries, Jasprit Bumrah, who led the team in Rohit’s absence in two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, is unlikely to be chosen as the skipper.
Shubman Gill, 25 is reckoned as the next captain. However, the final call will be made once the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee speaks to the BCCI top brass and makes its eventual choice.
With the series against England, a completely new WTC cycle would get underway, so it would make sense for the selection committee to appoint a young skipper who can take the team forward.
Rohit Sharma had earlier stood down from the Sydney Test against Australia, owing to poor form in Tests. Under the 38-year-old, India suffered back-to-back series defeats against New Zealand (home) and Australia (away).
After standing down from the Sydney Test, Rohit Sharma emphatically stated that he would be going nowhere and would continue to play Tests. However, doubts remained over his participation in the England Tests.
A month prior to the start of the England tour, Rohit has now finally brought the curtain down on his Test career, which blossomed after he was made the opener by the Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri regime.
The 38-year-old was India’s most prolific Test batter in the second half of his career, scoring 4301 runs in 67 Tests with 12 hundreds and 18 half centuries at an average of 40.57. Rohit captained India to the World Test Championship final against Australia and save the last couple of indifferent series against New Zealand at home and the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia.