‘Rohit Sharma's days as Test opener were over…': Manjrekar minces no words in brutal take on star batter's retirement
Rohit Sharma's Test retirement might have come as a shock to some, but not to Sanjay Manjrekar. The swashbuckling opener announced the big decision ahead of the England tour, where India will travel to play five Tests and start the new World Test Championship Cycle. The poor show in home series against Bangladesh and New Zealand at home last year, followed by the Border-Gavaskar Trophy loss, put Rohit under immense pressure as the selectors were also forced to think about the future, as the veteran opener decided to relinquish his captaincy and retire from the red-ball format.
Manjrekar, who is known for being vocal about his views and opinions, posted on X, referring to Rohit's poor form in the last 15 innings and raised concerns over his fitness to suggest that his days as a Test opener were already over.
"164 in his last 15 innings. Out of which 10 were at home v Bangladesh & NZ. Average 10.9. With his current fitness levels…Rohit Sharma's days as Test opener were over. So…" Manjrekar wrote on X.
Rohit announced his retirement on Wednesday ahead of the five-match Test series in England beginning on June 20.
'It's been an absolute honor to represent my country in whites," he wrote on Instagram announcing the big decision. 'Thank you for all the love and support over the years," he added.
He scored 4,301 runs in 67 tests, an average of 40.57, with 12 centuries for the national team.
The swashbuckling opener took over the red-ball captaincy charge from Virat Kohli in March 2022 and guided India to 12 wins, nine losses, and three draws while scoring 1,254 runs during that time. He also led India to the WTC final in 2023, where India lost to Australia.
BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla has made it clear that it was solely Rohit's decision, and nobody pressured him to make the big call.
'As far as Rohit Sharma's retirement from Test cricket is concerned, he has made his own decision. It is our policy that the players who take the decision of retirement — we do not put any pressure on them, nor do we suggest anything, nor do we say anything,' Shukla told PTI Videos.
After Rohit's retirement, Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah have emerged as the top contenders to take over the captaincy charge. Shubman has no experience leading the Indian Test team, and his recent red-ball record with the bat is also not up to par. On the other hand, Bumrah impressed many with his captaincy in BGT 2024-25, but fitness concerns and workload management might force BCCI to choose an alternate option.
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