Rohit Sharma officially informed by BCCI selectors his Test career is over
Published - 03 Jan 2025, 02:34 PM | Updated - 03 Jan 2025, 11:35 PM
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The Test career of the India National Cricket Team skipper Rohit Sharma is officially finished as the selection committee is looking beyond the veteran right-handed batsman.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee has already conveyed the message to Rohit Sharma that he would not be considered for selection in red-ball cricket beyond the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, which is currently underway in Australia.
What went wrong with Rohit Sharma - the Test cricketer?
Rohit Sharma enjoyed a huge success in Test cricket since he started opening the batting for the side. He played some game-changing knocks for India and emerged as one of the consistent performers.
In the first two cycles of the ICC World Test Championship, Rohit Sharma was sensational with the bat and played a key role in India qualifying for the finals of the mega event. The opening batsman scores 1094 runs at an average of 60.77 in the first WTC cycle and 758 runs at an average of 42.11 in the second WTC cycle.
Overall, he has played 40 matches in the World Test Championship and has scored 2716 runs at an average of 41.15, which is the most runs by any Indian batter.
Rohit Sharma also did a terrific job as a leader, and things were going smoothly for him until the recent home Test series against the New Zealand National Cricket Team. The Kiwis whitewashed India in the three-match Test series, and Rohit's captaincy came under scrutiny.
He was extremely poor with the bat in all the matches against New Zealand as well as the previous two-match Test series against Bangladesh. His poor form continued in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 despite changing his batting position and he was eventually left out of the playing XI for the fifth and final Test match of the series at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
This was the first time in the history of Indian cricket that a captain was dropped from the playing XI based on his poor form. At the toss, vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah said that Rohit had opted to 'rest' from the game.
Reportedly, Rohit made the decision to opt out of the match after having discussions with head coach Gautam Gambhir and the chairman of the selection committee Ajit Agarkar.
Rohit Sharma isn’t part of the selectors plan in Test cricket
The fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was most likely the final Test appearance of Rohit Sharma, according to Indian Express.
The Indian selection committee has reportedly informed Rohit that he is no longer in the scheme of things in Test cricket.
"The Indian Express understands that Rohit Sharma isn’t part of the selectors plan beyond the Australia tour when it comes to red-ball cricket and it has already been communicated to him prior to the Sydney Test," the report stated.
Just like Rohit, Virat Kohli has been going through a bad patch and the selection committee will have discussions with him regarding his future after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Another senior player, Ravindra Jadeja, however, is all set to continue to be a part of the Test squad because the selectors still see value in him.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma is likely to be ignored in Test cricket even if India somehow qualify for the final of the ICC World Test Championship. Also, a decision on his ODI captaincy will be made soon.
Melbourne Test will be Rohit Sharma’s last game - Sunil Gavaskar
Speaking to the host broadcaster, the legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar opined that Rohit Sharma's appearance in the Melbourne Test was his last in the red-ball cricket if India don't reach the WTC final.
“I think it probably means that (if) India don’t qualify for the WTC final, the Melbourne Test will be Rohit Sharma’s last game. The (next) WTC cycle will start with the England series, and the selectors would likely want someone available for the 2027 final.
"Whether India gets there or not is another matter, but that’s what the selection committee is likely to do. We have probably seen Rohit Sharma for the last time in Test cricket,” Gavaskar said.
