Sourav Ganguly questions Indian skipper Rohit Sharma for the team's decline in Test cricket

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Image Credit: ANI

Former India captain and BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly questioned current skipper Rohit Sharma for the Indian cricket’s decline in Test cricket. Under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, Team India endured back to back setbacks in the longest format of the game, raising concerns over the team's performance in red-ball cricket. 

Over the last five months, India played 10 Tests, winning just three matches. The Rohit Sharma-led side won the two-match series against Bangladesh. However, Team India suffered a biggest setback in their 12-year dominance in Test cricket at home, losing the home series at the hands of New Zealand. For the first time in 24 years, India suffered a Test series whitewash against the visit team. Another big setback for Team India was failing to defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in 10 years after losing the five-match series 1-3 to Australia. 

Two consecutive Test series defeats against New Zealand and Australia raised questions about Rohit Sharma’s captaincy and India’s approach in the longest format of the game. Apart from captaincy, Rohit Sharma’s form came under scrutiny as he managed to score only 31 runs at an average of 6.2 in five innings. 

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Sourav Ganguly expressed his dissatisfaction over Team India’s decline in red-ball cricket, stating Rohit Sharma needed to find a way to turn things around before the crucial five-match Test series against England. 

“I don't know whether he's going to continue playing Test cricket but if he is listening to me, he should take the responsibility of turning things around in red-ball.” Ganguly said at the Trailblazers 3.0 by RevSportz.

“India are not good at red-ball at the moment and they need to look at it, find a way to play well in England because that's going to be a very important five-Test series. Rohit has to find a way to get this team going." he added.

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Rohit Sharma took over Team India’s Test captaincy duties ahead of the Sri Lanka series in 2022 after Virat Kohli renounced his leadership roles in the red-ball format after 1-2 series against South Africa. Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, has led Team India in 24 matches, winning 12 and losing 3, with a success rate of 50%. Rohit Sharma led India to series wins against Sri Lanka, Australia, England, and Bangladesh before losing two consecutive Test series against New Zealand and Australia

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Sourav Ganguly expressed his concern over Rohit Sharma’s form, stating that the Indian skipper can do much better than what he has done in the red-ball cricket, given his stature and calibre. He added that Rohit needed to think ahead of the five-match Test series against England.

“What has surprised me is his form in the red ball over the last 4-5 years. A player of his stature and ability, he can do much better than what he has done.” the former India captain said. 

“He must put on his thinking cap because we have 5 Tests against England and that's going to be another hard series. Just like the way it was in Australia. It's going to seam; it's going to swing. India need him to perform in the red ball.” he added.

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Former Team India captain further praised Rohit Sharma’s leadership, stating that veteran Indian batter has captaincy traits in him. 

"Leadership is very important. I have always said that Rohit Sharma is a fabulous captain. Because that's what I see, that's what I notice when he is captaining India. I've seen him captain Mumbai Indians. I have captained India for so many matches so I can see the traits in a captain," Ganguly added.

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Rohit Sharma’s Test future was uncertain after he had a disastrous series against Australia in Border-Gavaskar Trophy. After leading Team India to Champions Trophy 2025 win, which was his second consecutive ICC title as a captain after T20 World Cup triumph, the reports emerged that Rohit has retained his Test captaincy and is likely to be picked for the England Test series, which will take place in June-July.