“Does Rohit Sharma Want To Captain India?”- Steve Waugh Burns Fire

In the last 12 months, the pendulum has swung in different directions for the Indian ODI and Test captain, Rohit Sharma, who has already retired from the shortest format of the game. It’s quite unbelievable how questions have been raised over his Test position, but everyone wants to keep him till 2027 in the 50-over format.

The Nagpur-born is currently part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Mumbai Indians. Opening the batting, he struggled in the first seven innings before finding form in the last game with an unbeaten knock of 76 runs in 45 balls. Overall, the right-handed batter has collected 158 runs at an average of 26.33.

Rohit Sharma’s recent struggling Test and successful ODI career

One of the biggest reasons for India to reach the final of the home ODI World Cup 2023 and end as the runners-up of the edition against Australia was the 38-year-old showing aggression as the opening batter in the powerplay. He continued the same process in the T20 World Cup last year.

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But just after the glory, the dark period arrived. The blue brigade faced their very first home Test series defeat against New Zealand after nearly 13 years. Their bad form continued in the five-match away Test series in Australia during the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, where they lost the series by a 3-1 margin despite claiming victory in the opening game.

Rohit Sharma’s form with the bat also dropped. He managed just 91 runs in six innings against the Kiwis at home with an average of 15 and one half-century on his name. On the flip side of the coin, the Nagpur-born got just 31 runs in five innings at 6.20 down under.

It reached to a stand where the veteran decided to stand down from the fifth New Year’s Test in Sydney. But the entire mood of the Indian fans changed when six weeks later, they lifted their second Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the UAE.

“Rohit Sharma needs to look himself in the mirror”- Steve Waugh

The former Australian captain, Steve Waugh, reckoned that the 37-year-old has to be guarded against complacency if he wants to continue serving the Indian cricket team. Many pundits reckoned that it could be high time for the side to look beyond the veteran in the longest format.

“It is totally up to him. He is the only one who can solve that problem. He has got to look at himself in the mirror and say, do I still want to be captain or play for India? Am I committed?” Waugh, a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy, told PTI, as quoted by the Hindustan Times.

“Am I putting enough time and effort into it? It is a privilege and an honor to play for your country. You can't be complacent or relax.” He reckoned.

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In the 2024/25 Test season, Rohit Sharma has clubbed just 164 runs in 15 innings at a scarcely believable average of just below 11.

Rohit Sharma expected to trip to England

After the end of the IPL 2025, India will travel to England for the five-match Test series to start the fourth cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25.

It will be interesting to see if the BCCI selectors retain Rohit Sharma in the leadership department. Many reports have claimed that Jasprit Bumrah could replace him in the department, but they will take the final call at a later stage.