Former Indian cricket coach Ravi Shastri believes Rohit Sharma might retire from Test cricket after being excluded from the fifth Test against Australia in Sydney. Shastri shared his thoughts on Friday.
Rohit, the 37-year-old opening batter, has struggled throughout the series. His absence from India’s pre-match press conference and ‘silent’ involvement in the nets hinted at a potential change for the decisive Test. Coach Gautam Gambhir addressed the media instead of Rohit, declining to offer explicit support for the captain.
Jasprit Bumrah, standing in as captain, stated that Rohit chose to rest for the team’s benefit, rather than being dropped.
Shastri, however, suspects this might mark the end of Rohit’s 67-Test career, anticipating a retirement announcement after the match.
“It still is a brave call for a captain to own up and say, ‘I’m prepared to take the bench in this game,'” Shastri said while commentating on Fox Sports.
“If there was a home season coming up he might’ve thought of carrying on, but I think he might just pull the plug at the end of this Test.
“It’s not that India don’t have youngsters. There are very, very good players in the wings and it’s time to build.
“Tough decisions, but there is a time for everything.”
Rohit retired from T20 international cricket after winning the World Cup last year. He hasn’t yet announced his retirement from One Day Internationals (ODIs).
Rohit missed the first Test in Perth due to the birth of his second child. Since his return, he hasn’t scored more than 10 runs in any of his five innings.
His recent form mirrors his poor performance in India’s 3-0 home series loss to New Zealand in October and November.
Bumrah emphasised Rohit’s decision to rest as a display of leadership and team unity. He highlighted the team’s focus on prioritising the collective good. “Our captain has shown his leadership, he’s opted to rest in this game,” Bumrah said at the toss.
“So that shows there’s a lot of unity in our team, there’s no selfishness, whatever is in the team’s best interest, we are looking to do that.”
If Rohit retires, it will be the second retirement during the Australian tour. R Ashwin, the renowned off-spinner, returned home after the third Test at the Gabba.
