Game over for Rohit Sharma in Tests? Well, Sunil Gavaskar thinks so. The official word from the India camp is that Rohit ‘opted to rest’ from the India vs Australia 5th Test in Sydney. But, ‘resting’ or ‘rested’ in Indian cricket often leaves the room for many interpretation. Rohit Sharma was not having a great run since landing in Australia. In his five innings in the Border Gavaskar Trophy, Rohit score only 31 runs. After missing the first Test in Perth due to personal reasons, Rohit batted in the middle order in the second and third Tests. He returned to opening in the fourth Test but failed to score big.
After Jasprit Bumrah, the stand-in captain, said Rohit Sharma opted to rest from the fifth Test, Gavaskar said that this might signal the end of the player in Tests.
“Melbourne Test would be Rohit Sharma’s last, maybe. The selection committee will now be looking at somebody who cane lead till the 2025-2027 World Test Championship final. I mean, India may not qualify but the thinking process will be like that from the section committee. So, maybe, we have probably seen Rohit Sharma for the last time in Tests,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
Looking at India’s practice session on the eve of the game it was clear that Rohit was going to sit out.
The speculation over his future in the longest format also gained momentum after India lost the fourth Test in Melbourne to trail the five-match series 1-2.
The year 2024 turned out to be the least productive year for Rohit in Test cricket as he collected 619 runs in 26 innings across 14 matches averaging 24.76.
Having played his 67th five-day game in Melbourne, Rohit is also being expected to call time on his roller-coaster Test career soon.
Rohit could not replicate his stellar success in white ball cricket over the course of his 11-year Test career.
After not realising his potential in the middle-order following his debut in 2013, Rohit’s red ball career got a second wing in 2019 when he started opening.
Last year Rohit guided India to a much-awaited T20 World Cup title but his performances dropped drastically in the traditional format.
His longtime teammate and former captain Virat Kohli is also facing criticism for his repeated dismissals outside the off-stump in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy thus far.
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