Rohit Sharma announced on Wednesday his test of testing cricket with immediate effect, ending incessant speculation surrounding his future in the longest format and leaving India who needs a new captain for the next series of five games against England. Having already retired from T20 Internationals after having directed India to the World Cup trophy last year, Rohit, 38, will now be seen only the captain of the national team in ODI format. “Hello everyone, I would just like to share that I retire from the test cricket. It was an absolute honor to represent my country in the whites.
“Thank you for all love and support over the years. I will continue to represent India in the Odi format,” he posted on Instagram with a photo of his test ceiling.
The BCCI also confirmed that Rohit will continue to be the captain of the ODI.
“Thank you, captain. End of an era in the whites! Imro45 offers farewell to test the cricket. He will continue to direct India in the Odi. We are proud of you, Hitman,” posted BCCI on ‘X’.
Thank you, captain
End of an era in whites!@ Imro45 Bids goodbye to test cricket. He will continue to direct India in the ODIs.
We are proud of you, Hitman pic.twitter.com/azlpzfwdhn
– BCCI (@bcci) May 7, 2025
India will have a new test captain for the five test series in England from June 20, the possible candidates being Jasprit Bumrah, Kl Rahul, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant. Bumrah capitalized on the side in a few tests during the tour of Australia.
Rahul and Gill are currently the favorites due to the recurring fitness problems of the vice-captain Bumrah. Bumrah, however, cannot be completely excluded.
Rohit, the man who led India in four finals of the ICC tournament, winning two of them, is a legend in good faith in the ODIs with more than 11,000 points and 32 centuries.
He bowed tests as the most prolific striker in India in the second half of his career, the overall score of 4301 takes place in 67 tests with 12 hundred and 18 half-century at an average of 40.57.
“Rohit is determined to play the ODI 2027 World Cup, and he will do everything in his power to stay in shape and play the mega-event,” a source close to the Indian skipper in PTI. The circumstances leading to his announcement on Wednesday were far from ideal.
If we believe a source close to Rohit, the champion striker had decided to withdraw from the tests after India won the Champions Trophy in March.
And although it was known to the men who counted, speculation around its future have been authorized to swirl in the media by officials who preferred not to have recorded.
“The Test Cricket retirement had been at the top of Rohit since the start of the Champions Trophy. A new WTC cycle (World Test Championship), and he therefore thought it was the best time,” added the source of Rohit.
“If Rohit had decided that he would call it to leave the tests, where does the question come to drop him?” A former BCCI official, who has looked at Rohit closely over the years, has thought out loud.
The selection committee, we learned, gave no clarity to Rohit to find out if he went to the team linked to England, which should be announced next week. Rohit, for his part, clearly told them that he wanted the last call to his career to be his.
Although the Indian selection committee gathered in Mumbai informally, it could not be confirmed that head coach Gautam Gambir joins them online from Delhi to discuss the plan of the series against England.
Rohit has a captain of India in the final of the world testing championship against Australia and has experienced a fairly decent race in the format except the last two indifferent series against New Zealand at home and the Border-Gavaskar confrontation against Australia earlier this year.
He endured a particularly difficult race during the Border-Gavaskar trophy, where he had to drop from the XI due to the bad form, but he had excluded retirement at this stage.
There were also generalized speculation about his differences with Gambir, who had promised to end the “stars culture” in Indian cricket after having taken care of last year in July.
The two have constantly denied chatter, but Gambir has repeatedly and repeatedly indicated that only the performance would guarantee the selection of the team.
The highest point of the Rohit test of the Test of Rohit was undoubtedly that India reached the final of the world test championship in 2023, finally losing against Australia. It was the same year in which the team lost in the ODI World Cup final, once again, once again against Australia.
Captain candidates
Bumrah, being the best player, was in the running to become the permanent test captain, but his dubious lower back is a concern for selectors because he is subject to breakdowns during the long series.
Rahul has a captain of India intermittently and is in good shape at the moment. He is also 33 years old and has four to five years of international cricket in him, which would be the time necessary to prepare for the next captain.
There is a school of thought that prefers Shubman Gill because it could be the next big business brand after Virat Kohli that Indian cricket needs.
Rishabh Pant was a prolific test player, but if he will have the vote of coach Gautam Gambir is not yet known.
(With the exception of the title, this story has not been published by NDTV staff and is published from a unionized flow.)
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