Rohit Sharma's Test retirement made official by Kris Srikkanth

Former Indian captain Kris Srikkanth has made a bold prediction about Rohit Sharma as India struggles to come to terms with the shock 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand at home. He strongly believes that India’s upcoming much-awaited Test tour of Australia will be the defining moment for Rohit Sharma in the longest format of the game.

The former Indian chief selector predicted that Rohit Sharma will retire from Test cricket if he fails to regain his form and perform well in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia. Srikkanth believes that Rohit will only play ODIs if he fails to score Down Under.

Kris Srikkanth predicts Rohit Sharma's Test retirement looms without Australia turnaround

India’s Test and ODI captain already retired from the T20I cricket and is under increasing scanner in Test cricket, so he must be aware of the need to do justice once again, especially his recent woeful form with the bat in the home season and New Zealand Test series.

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The Australian wickets will be a baptism for the 36-year-old, who has a tough task on hand, considering adapting to fast wickets. However, Kris Srikkanth said that Rohit Sharma’s acknowledgment of failure as a captain and a player is just the right step towards his redemption.

The former Indian chief selector has noted that the Indian captain’s readiness to be criticized, his willingness to face criticisms head-on, is the hallmark of a leader who is worthy of a bounce back.

If Rohit Sharma doesn't do well, he will retire from Tests: Kris Srikkanth

Kris Srikkanth said in his YouTube show: “100 percent, you have to start thinking ahead (if India doesn't do well in Australia). If Rohit Sharma doesn't do well, I think he himself will retire from Test cricket, for all you know. He will play ODIs only. He has already left T20I cricket. We have to keep in mind that he is also aging. He is no longer getting younger.”

The former Indian opener further noted, “At least Rohit Sharma had the guts. Hats off to Rohit Sharma for accepting the fact that he played badly throughout the series and captained badly. That's a great thing. That's the first move of a player to get back to the rhythm. Accepting your fault is very important. That's a very important quality of a human being. He accepted it openly, and that means he is on the road to recovery; that's my opinion.”

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His area is Australia: Srikkanth backs Virat Kohli to bounce back Down Under

Speaking about Virat Kohli, who is also going through a rough phase, the former Indian captain has full confidence in the right-hander to get into his top form on Australian soil, which is his area to hunt. He stressed that Kohli has a lot of cricket left in him, so one or two years of bad cricket won’t matter.

Srikkanth signed off by saying, “In my opinion, Virat Kohli will start doing in Australia (comeback). His area is Australia. I think that's his strength. I think it's too early to talk like this about Virat Kohli (moving on from him). I won't accept it. Virat Kohli has got a lot of time. One or two bad years of Test cricket.”