CRICKET NEWS

Rohit Sharma To Retire Tests and ODIs on this Day

Rohit Sharma, one of the modern greats, is approaching the end of his international career. Serving the country for over 17 years, Rohit has earned a reputation for his game-changing innings and long-hitting sixes. He currently holds some of the world records in cricket, including three double centuries in ODI cricket, the highest individual score in an ODI inning, and five centuries in an ODI World Cup.

Nearly 38 years old, and out of form as a batsman, and that was seen affecting him as a leader while making some mistakes that were not expected from a kind of individual whose portfolio is filled with a bundle of achievements. Two halves in 2024 for Rohit Sharma were completely different as captain and a batsman.

List of Signs Showing the End of Rohit Sharma’s International Career:

Retirement from T20Is

Rohit Sharma has been an exceptional player in the game’s shorter formats. Last year, in 2024, Rohit announced his retirement from T20Is after the T20 World Cup 2024 win after the wait of 17 years. With the game progressing rapidly, Rohit found the perfect time and decided to give the youngsters a chance to take India forward in the right direction. Rohit also mentioned that he did not want to end his career in T20I, but life has completed the circle of winning the T20 World Cup 2007 on his debut and completing it by winning that as a leader will keep that moment memorable.

Series Defeat in Sri Lanka

The ODI series loss after 27 years against Sri Lanka was one of the performances of Indian players under Rohit’s captaincy. As a captain, Rohit failed to win the tournament and lost the series to a more inexperienced team. In the series, India failed to cross 250 even once in three matches. This was the start of something unexpected in Indian cricket’s history. It was a trailer of what was to come in the next six months.

Home Series Defeat Against New Zealand

It was after a long period of 11 continuous years of home dominance that India lost a home series for the first time. Rohit looked clueless as a captain and as a batter. Along with Kohli and a few batters, Rohit looked off-color, impacting the team’s performance in the series. The Kiwis outplayed the Indian team in every department. Rohit scored a mere 91 in a three-match series at an average of barely 15. This series gave a hint of Rohit’s dropping performances in test cricket, which continues till now.

Border-Gavaskar Trophy Loss

For the first time since 2014, India lost the hold of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Going to Australia on the back of records in BGT, the Indian team suffered a humiliating loss at the hands of the Kangaroos by a 1-3 margin. India never recovered from the loss in the pink-ball test and ultimately suffered a defeat of 3-1 in the 5-match series.

Apart from Bumrah, Reddy, and Jaiswal, no one looked threatening from the Indian setup, and it was an uphill task for Rohit to get the team in a good position. As a captain and a batter, Rohit Sharma underperformed by scoring just 31 runs in 5 innings and also lost 2 games. His poor performances led him to be sidelined from the last test match at Sydney. Especially in test format, Rohit looks way past his prime and could hang his boots shortly.

Poor Show with the Bat in Ranji Trophy

Rohit Sharma in Ranji Trophy
Rohit Sharma in the Ranji Trophy

Rohit Sharma came back to take part in the ongoing Ranji Trophy. However, his poor form continued in the first match as he got out at a total score of 31 runs in 2 innings with a highest score of 28. The most frustrating thing for him is the way he gets out which is usually against the run of play but that won’t be considered as an excuse. If he continues to underperform, BCCI may be compelled to make a strict decision for the team’s benefit.

One Last Stint at Champions Trophy

With youngsters waiting in line and Rohit nearing 38, we could see some tough calls by the end of March or after the IPL 2025 season. Rohit has been a phenomenal batsman at least in the white ball formats where he has been able to maintain his batting form. The Champions Trophy 2025 tournament is lined up to start on 19th February, and possibly it could be his last ICC tournament both as a captain and a leader.

Players such as Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Sanju Samson remain seated on the bench and don’t get enough chances to express themselves. It would be an ideal time for them to cement their place in the team and focus on the coming ODI World Cup 2027.

Rohit could also end his stint soon if he doesn’t feel like contributing enough to the team’s progress. All said and done, it remains on Rohit Sharma how he sees his game. His captaincy and batting have been under scanner after the T20 World Cup 2024 final. It will be interesting to see how things go.