As of December 31, 2024, Rohit Sharma has not announced his retirement from Test cricket. However, recent performances and growing speculation suggest that such a decision may be imminent.
In the on-going five-Test series against Australia, India is at a disadvantageous 2-1, after suffering a big defeat in Melbourne. Rohit Sharma, 37, has struggled notably, scoring just one fifty and totting up 10 single-digit scores from his last 15 Test innings. This decline in form has intensified the discussion about his future in the longest format of the game.
Former Indian captain Kris Srikkanth has weighed in on the matter, suggesting that if Rohit does not perform well in the current series, he might consider retiring from Test cricket to focus on One Day Internationals (ODIs). Srikkanth noted that Rohit has already retired from Twenty20 Internationals after leading India to a World Cup victory in June, emphasizing the need to manage his workload as he ages.
To that speculation, there was another clue dropped by Rohit’s childhood coach Dinesh Lad when he said the Indian skipper may very well call time on his Test cricket career in a bid to further elongate his career in the shorter formats, specifically eyeing participation in the 2027 ODI World Cup. According to Lad, Rohit might pull out from Test cricket after this cycle of World Test Championship as he will remain fit for 50-over format cricket.
The recent series loss to New Zealand, where India suffered a 0-3 whitewash at home, has further fueled discussions about the future of senior players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Both have faced criticism for their performances, with calls for introducing new faces into the Test squad to rebuild and prepare for future challenges.
Nothing formal has been released, but from the decline of performances, what experts say and career planning through strategy, a possibility of retiring from Test matches for Rohit Sharma in the near future, is on every cricket fan and analyst’s tongue. Fans along with cricketing analysts are highly awaiting confirmation regarding the same to either be released from the player side or the BCCI.