Rohit Sharma Wanted To Play 2 Tests On England Tour, BCCI Objected- Report

According to reports, Rohit Sharma, the opener for Team India, was compelled to declare his retirement prior to the five-match Test series against England on the road.

Rohit's plea to play in the first two games as a player after resigning as captain was turned down by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

To the astonishment of many, Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Test cricket on Wednesday, May 7. At an average of 40.57, the 38-year-old batsman scored 4,301 runs in 67 games, including 12 hundreds and 18 fifties.

The seasoned batter posted on his Instagram account to inform his admirers of the news.

Rohit Sharma wanted to play the first two tests to test his form; the BCCI rejected his idea

A Times of India report claims that Rohit Sharma's choice to stop playing Test cricket wasn't his own. Concerned about his recent performance, the selectors turned down Rohit's request to resign as Test captain and play on.

Before making his decision public, the former Indian captain held discussions with the selectors for a week. Before deciding on his red-ball future, he had planned to evaluate his performance in the first two Test matches in England.

“Rohit had himself offered to relinquish Test captaincy. Last week, he had communicated to the selectors that they should be looking for other options. He wanted to test himself out in the first two tests. However, the selectors weren’t comfortable with that idea,” a BCCI source told the Times of India.

Beginning with the home series against Bangladesh, Rohit struggled in all three of his previous Test series. In his last eight Test matches, he has averaged less than 11, and he has only reached one half-century in 15 innings.

He chose not to play in the final Test in Sydney after averaging just 6.20 throughout the three Tests.

Rohit Sharma was asked to play the entire England Test series

Following a meeting with the selectors, Rohit Sharma was presented with a difficult decision. Rohit should commit to the team even if he is not the captain, the selectors made clear. They wished to steer clear of the misunderstanding that arose during Ravichandran Ashwin's visit to Australia.

“He was asked to commit to the entire tour. The selectors and team management didn’t want to deal with chaos in the middle of the tour like it happened with Ravichandran Ashwin on the tour of Australia. Rohit also arrived on the same page and decided to call it quits,” the source said.

Ahead of the upcoming World Test Championship cycle, the selectors are concentrating on selecting an Indian captain for the long term.

Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant are prime candidates for captaincy; the BCCI has yet to decide

The team management is thinking beyond temporary fixes, despite rumors that Virat Kohli or Jasprit Bumrah would fill in for the England visit.

The selectors are worried, but Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant are the front-runners. While Pant is experiencing a slump in his form, Gill's Test record is still patchy, particularly in SENA nations. Even a daring move has been contemplated by the selectors.

“Gill has been groomed as a long-term leader for a while. But the selectors are wary of his record away from home. With Pant going through a lean patch, the selectors may not want to burden him with more responsibility. The selectors have been considering a drastic step like South Africa did with Graeme Smith in 2003,” the source said.

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