Rohit Sharma would've never quit Test cricket had BCCI not given him ultimatum, told Agarkar 'I am not finished': Report
While the entire Indian cricket community – fans and players alike – are trying to come to terms with Virat Kohli's retirement from Test cricket, spare a thought about Rohit Sharma. The former Test captain, who not too long ago was keen to lead India in England, announced his retirement from the format with a little over a month left for the tour. Sure enough, Rohit did not have the best time as India's red-ball captain, losing 0-3 to New Zealand at home and then surrendering to Australia 1-3 to relinquish the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. But still, having won the Champions Trophy in March and the T20 World Cup less than a year ago, the belief was that Rohit would at least make that trip to England to salvage some pride.
However, the BCCI had other plans in mind. A day before Rohit announced his retirement on social media, X was up and running with its own theories, with fans and certain reporters expecting some big development surrounding the Indian captain, and less than 24 hours later, Rohit's decision was final. Just like that, his Test career, which despite the promise, never quite took off like T20Is or ODIs, was over.
So what changed between that podcast with Michael Clarke, where he declared his availability for the England tour, and Thursday? The answer is simple. The BCCI and more particularly its selection committee took the call for Rohit. A report in The Dainik Jagran claims that the BCCI wanted to move in a fresher and newer direction for the third World Test Championship cycle, for which they did not deem Rohit fit.
Also Read: 'Rohit Sharma's days as Test opener were over,' Manjrekar minces no words in brutal take on star batter's retirement
Speculations about Rohit's Test future first began when he was left out of India's Playing XI for the fifth and final Test against Australia in Sydney. While it was then believed that Rohit and head coach Gautam Gambhir took the call, the Jagran reports claim that when Rohit announced 'I am not going anywhere', it was a way of telling the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee 'I am not finished yet'. The report suggests 'Rohit would have never quit Tests' had it not been for the BCCI's ultimatum, which eventually took place on the evening of May 7, leading to Rohit's retirement.
Please note that The Hindustan Times could not independently verify the report.
While it clearly isn't the smoothest exit for Rohit, you have to feel for the man. Since taking over as India's Test captain after Kohli stepped down from the post in January 2022, Rohit has done his bit. He captained India to a series win over Australia and England at home, while leading from the front. He scored 242 runs with one century as India retained the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy and another 400, including two hundreds, helping beat England 3-1 at home in a series which Kohli skipped entirely for the birth of his second child.
The stars stopped shining for Rohit in the second half of last year, when his tally of 90 runs from 91 runs from 6 innings against New Zealand cost India their first Test series defeat at home in 12 years, and later of course in Australia, where he struggled to score even a single run, finally finishing with 31 from five innings at a dismal average of 6.20. Under Rohit, India also did not lose a Test series in South Africa for the first time since 2010-11.
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