Rohit Sharma’s Test Captaincy Still Dangling!! This Person To Take The Final Call

At the end of the five-match Test series of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, which India went on to lose by a 3-1 margin, many raised their voice on Rohit Sharma stepping down from the red-ball leadership. He also decided to omit himself from the last game of the series at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) as Jasprit Bumrah captained them.

Rohit looked a pale shadow of himself in the series down under, and the situation went from bad to worse when they failed to qualify for the third season of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 with successive series defeats against Australia away and New Zealand at home.

Rohit Sharma’s unsuccessful period in Tests

Under Rohit Sharma, the Blue Brigade suffered six defeats in the last eight games that they played with a 0-3 whitewash. The opening batter managed just 91 runs in six innings at an average of 15, shouldering on one half-century.

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He continued the bad form in Australia with just 31 runs in six innings at an average of 6.20 and the best score of just ten. For another team, the selectors would have dropped the batter without a second thought. But the Nagpur-born returned to the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 clash for Mumbai against Jammu and Kashmir to display his desire to extend his Test future.

However, the move came after the Board of Control for Cricket in India cleared that the national players would have to turn up for the domestic games to keep themselves available for international selection.

Even in the Ranji clash, Rohit Sharma failed to leave a mark with the bat. In the first innings, he was undone by the pace and bounce before finishing on an attacking knock in the second innings.

Report claims Gautam Gambhir’s engagement on Rohit Sharma’s Test future

The recent reports claimed that Rohit Sharma remains the red-ball captain of the side as he benched himself from the previous contest at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

“Technically, Rohit remains the Test captain. He voluntarily benched himself from the last Test in Sydney, where he explained that a team can't carry on with multiple out-of-form batters.” The PTI quoted a BCCI source as saying.

“After Australia Tests, India haven't played any Tests, and hence, there has been no change in Test captaincy. Also, Rohit never said he doesn't want to play Tests.” The reports expressed.

Rohit Sharma’s red-ball future call will be taken later after a discussion with the head coach, Gautam Gambhir, whose viewpoint on the future of the side will be crucial to deciding the future of the captaincy in the longest format.

“The selection committee gets a break during IPL. Obviously, with all matches televised, they always don't need to travel unless they have some specific strategy or they want to watch a particular player from up close.” The reports are highlighted.

“So once IPL starts, the blueprint for the England series will be drawn at some point. But (coach) Gautam Gambhir's viewpoint will have a lot of weightage.” The source added.

Rohit Sharma rejects call on ODI retirement

The entire discussion on Rohit extending his red-ball future started after he led the side to their second Champions Trophy 2025. He clubbed a fine knock of 76 runs in the final of the tournament against New Zealand in Dubai to lay down the winning platform.

Also Read: Pakistan Spinner Rips Apart Andy Roberts’ Comments On Advantage India In Champions Trophy 2025

Also at the end of the clash, he confirmed the decision of not hanging his shoes from the 50-over format in future.

“One more thing. I am not going to retire from this format. It is to make sure there are no rumors spread moving forward. Thank you so much.” Rohit Sharma concluded after the Champions Trophy 2025 victory.