Rohit Sharma’s Test retirement: Timeline of key events before Hitman’s adieu to red-ball cricket

Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Test cricket His decision follows scrutiny over his captaincy, poor form in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and discussions with the BCCI about his future before ultimately getting sacked from captaincy.

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Rohit Sharma retires from Tests

Team India captain Rohit Sharma decided to retire from his Test career on Wednesday, May 7. His retirement announcement a week before the BCCI selection committee picks India squad for the England Test tour, which is slated to take place in June.

Rohit Sharma’s last Test appearance was in the Boxing Day Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Melbourne. The 38-year-old finished his Test career with 4301 runs, including 12 centuries and 18 fifties, at an average of 40.57 in 67 matches. Rohit Sharma captained the side to multiple Test series wins at home and drew the Test series against South Africa. The veteran batter led Team India to the World Championship final in 2023, but lost to Australia.

Let’s take a look at key developments that took place before Rohit Sharma closed his chapter in Test cricket.

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Captaincy scrutiny after Test series whitewash vs NZ

Rohit Sharma’s Test captaincy came under heavy scrutiny after Team India suffered 0-3 whitewash at the hands of visiting New Zealand led by Tom Latham. Rohit became the first captain to lose the Test series for the first time since 2012 at home after suffering the second defeat against the Kiwis. Following the Test series whitewash, Team India failed to win a single match of the series for the first time since 2000. Rohit Sharma faced severe criticism from the experts and demanded resignation from the captaincy duties.

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Dropped himself from Sydney Test of the BGT

Rohit Sharma had endured a tough outing with the bat in the five-match Test series against Australia. After missing the Perth Test due to the birth of his second child, a son, the veteran batter returned to play for the matches of the BGT. However, Sharma had a disastrous series as he could score only 31 runs at an abysmal average of 6.2. Due to poor form, Rohit Sharma not only stepped down from the captaincy but also dropped himself from the team for Sydney. There were rumours that the right-handed batter would retire from Test after Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but he dismissed such speculations.

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BCCI asked Rohit to communicate about his future

During the BCCI review meeting for India’s disastrous Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, it was reported the board members asked Rohit Sharma to communicate about his future plans after the conclusion of the Champions Trophy 2025. Ahead of the final against New Zealand, the talks about Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the ODI emerged after the BCCI once again told the Indian captain to clearly outline his roadmap across formats, as the selectors were looking for a stable captain to lead Team India in both formats of the game, Tests and ODIs.

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Dismissed rumours of his ODI retirement

There were reports that Rohit Sharma might retire from ODIs after the Champions Trophy, which he dismissed after leading Team India to the title win by defeating New Zealand in the final at the Dubai International Stadium on March 9. It was the second title for Rohit Sharma as a captain after leading the Men in Blue to T20 World Cup triumph last year. Speaking at the conference after the final, Rohit clearly stated that he had no plans to retire from the game.

“I am not going to retire from this format. Just to make sure no rumours are spread moving forward. There is no future plan, whatever is going on will continue as it is.” Team India skipper said.

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BCCI backed Rohit Sharma to continue as Test captain

Despite earlier reports stating that Rohit Sharma might not be picked for the England Test tour, the BCCI reportedly backed the veteran batter to lead Team India in the five-match Test series in England after Champions Trophy 2025 success. As per the report by The Indian Express on March 15, a BCCI source stated that all stakeholders are in favour of Rohit Sharma continuing as a Test captain, adding that the Indian skipper expressed his desire to play red-ball cricket.

“He has shown what he can do. Every stakeholder feels that he is the right candidate to lead the Indian side for the tour of England. Rohit too has expressed his eagerness to keep playing red-ball cricket.” the source close to the BCCI told TIE.

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Rohit Sharma hinted at captaining in England tour

Speaking on ‘Beyond 23’ podcast with former Australian captain Michael Clarke, Rohit Sharma was looking forward to captaining Team India in England Test Tour, while stressing the importance of having fully fit bowlers to succeed. He stated that fully fit bowlers would help Team India to have a great tour of England.

“We will have a great season. I know the cricket [England] are playing these days, so it’ll be a good challenge for us.”

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Sacked from Test captaincy

Soon before announcing his retirement from Test cricket, Rohit Sharma was sacked from the leadership duties in the longest format of the game. As per the report by The Indian Express, the source close to the BCCI stated that Rohit Sharma would not be leading the side in England Test tour as the selectors are looking for a fresh face to captain the team. It has been reported that the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar had a series of discussions on the future of the Indian Test Team before sharing their vision with the BCCI. The selectors’ decision to remove Rohit Sharma from Test captaincy due to his recent performances in the red-ball.