Rohit Sharma told to 'look in the mirror' by Australia legend, ask 'Do I still want to be captain or play for India?'
Rohit Sharma has experienced some extreme swings in fortune as India captain and in personal form over the past year. While he won two consecutive ICC titles in the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy, India also experienced some utterly shocking losses in Test matches between the two tournaments. Rohit's future in Test cricket also came under the scanner due to his extraordinary lean run throughout this period and former Australia captain Steve Waugh has stated the 37-year-old has to be guarded against complacency if he is to continue serving Indian cricket.
"It is totally up to him," Waugh, a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy, told PTI. "He is the only one who can solve that problem. He has got to look himself in the mirror and say, do I still want to be captain or play for India? Am I committed?
"Am I putting enough time and effort into it? It is a privilege and an honour to play for your country. You can't be complacent or relax," added Waugh.
Rohit has changed his batting philosophy quite drastically in limited overs cricket, prioritising giving the team he is playing for a quick start to their innings at most times. It has meant that while the amount he runs he scores in a match dropped, his strike rate has gone up and he has earned plaudits for often putting the team's cause ahead of his own personal record.
However, this has also coincided with an alarming dip in form in Test cricket. In the 2024/25 season, Rohit scored a paltry 164 runs in as many as 15 Test innings at a scarcely believable average of 10.93. He scored one half century in this period. During this time, India were subjected to an unprecedented 3-0 whitewash at home by New Zealand. This was followed by a 3-1 defeat in Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, all of which resulted in India missing out on qualification to the World Test Championship final for the first time.
Rohit's form was so poor that he ended up dropping himself for the final Test in Australia. However, he has stated multiple times since then that he has no intention of retiring from Test cricket and recently said that he is looking forward to leading India in the upcoming five Test series in England which will be played in June and July.
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