As the entire country was busy in mock civil defence drills and KKR vs CSK IPL 2025 match, Rohit Sharma dropped a bombshell. India’s Test captain announced his retirement on May 7. While he hinted at continuing to play Test cricket with India touring England in June, he opted otherwise after a chat with the BCCI selection committee.
Rohit captained India in 24 Test matches, winning 12, losing 9 games in a two-year span. However, the writings were there on the wall after India faced an embarrassing 0-3 defeat to New Zealand at home and surrendered the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia in a 1-3 defeat. His red-ball form was such that only captaincy could have saved his Test career. But as the selectors snatched that immunity away, it was all but final that Rohit would take matters into his own hands and call it quits. He did.
Rohit Sharma Test career highlights
- Matches: 67
- Innings: 116
- Runs: 4301
- Debut: 2013 vs West Indies
- Avg: 40.57
- 100/50: 12/18
- 4s/6s: 473/88
How did Rohit do as a Test batter?
The Mumbaikar made his Test debut in 2013 against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens, scoring 177 on his debut innings. While there was a slump, he reinvented his batting after he was promoted to the opening spot in 2019. Overall, Rohit scored 4301 runs in 116 innings at an average of 40.57. He hit 12 centuries and 18 fifties. He also hit 88 sixes, second Indian after Virender Sehwag.
Rohit also bagged two wickets, bowling 63.5 overs. He last bowled in 2021 against England in Chennai. His two wickets were Gary Balance in Mitchell Marsh, both came in 2014.
| Span | Mat | Inns | Runs | HS | Avg | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-24 | 67 | 116 | 4301 | 212 | 40.57 | 12 | 18 | 473 | 88 |
How did he do as Test captain?
While many batters fail to handle the pressure of India captaincy, Rohit Sharma also failed. As a Test captain, he batted in 42 innings, scoring 1254 runs at an average of 30.58. His career average is 40.57. But Rohit also scored four centuries and as many fifties during his two-year tenure as the Test captain.
| Span | Mat | Inns | Runs | HS | Avg | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-2024 | 24 | 42 | 1254 | 131 | 30.58 | 4 | 4 | 149 | 25 |
Rohit Sharma: Opener vs middle-order
Rohit Sharma often credits his revival of Test career to a change in batting position, which MS Dhoni urged him to do. While he made the switch in Tests in 2019, he had already become an opener in white-ball cricket in 2017.
“I believe the decision to open in ODIs changed my career. It was a decision taken by MS Dhoni. I became a better batsman after that. In fact, it helped me understand my game better, react better according to situations. He just came up to me and said, ‘I want you to open the innings as I am confident that you will do well. He told me that I shouldn’t be scared of failures or get upset by criticism,” Rohit Sharma told PTI back in 2017.
Rohit opened in 66 Test innings, scoring 2697 runs at an average of 42.80. He also hit nine centuries and eight fifties.
| Pos | Inns | Runs | Avg | HS | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening | 66 | 2697 | 42.81 | 212 | 9 | 8 | 319 | 56 |
| 3 | 5 | 107 | 21.4 | 53 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 |
| 4 | 1 | 4 | 4.00 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | 16 | 437 | 29.13 | 79 | 0 | 3 | 38 | 10 |
| 6 | 28 | 1056 | 48.00 | 177 | 3 | 6 | 106 | 21 |
