Indian captain Rohit Sharma is set to retire from Test cricket at least as reports have indicated the barren patch of runs has finally taken a toll on the Mumbai batter. India recently lost the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne of the BGT 2024 and is 2-1 down in the five-Test series.
The fifth and final Test between India and Australia of the BGT 2024 is set to be played in Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) and will begin on January 3 onwards.
Coming to Rohit Sharma, he has scored 31 runs in 5 Tests since landing in Australia and joining the team for the Adelaide Test. In his absence, Jasprit Bumrah had captained the team to a brilliant 395-run win in the Perth Test.
But since Rohit Sharma has taken over, India has seen defeats in the Adelaide Test and Melbourne Test, while rain saved India in the Brisbane Test.
Not that he has come across as a strategically competent and proactive Test captain, but the extended lean period has plainly and further harmed his decision-making.
While there have been reports of discussions with BCCI top brass and selectors over retirement, Rohit is said to have made up his mind.
It's unclear when and where the news will be made, but the Indian skipper is unlikely to remain following the BGT.
Rohit will definitely prefer to persuade selectors to let him stay for the World Test Championship (WTC) final, assuming India pulls off a miracle and makes it there. However, if they do not, Sydney will be Rohit's final outing.
That is absolutely evident, and selectors are well aware of what is coming. However, the most pressing question at this point is whether Rohit deserves to be in the Playing XI. The runs are not coming.
Even with a decent home series against England, his Test average in 2024 is in the mid-20s, and he has only two centuries and two half-centuries in 14 Tests. 619 runs in 14 Tests would have pushed any batter out of the setup but Rohit, because of captaincy and reputation, has managed to hang on longer than he should have.
Aside from the dearth of runs, the experiments in Melbourne -- Rohit at number one, KL Rahul at number three, and Shubman Gill on the bench -- were more detrimental than beneficial, postponing the transition and opportunities for the next generation of superstars.
If you play Rohit in Sydney, the same batting order is likely to be used, and Shubman Gill will return home after only three innings, two of which were fluent beginnings. And KL Rahul continues to do something he hasn't done frequently in his career: bat at number three.
(Times of India report)
