Rohit Sharma Retirement On Cards After the SCG Test?
According to reports, Rohit Sharma has “made up his mind” to retire from Test cricket, If India does not advance to the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) Final, he is expected to hang up his boots following the final Test of the 2024–25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney.
The Times of India claims that there are rumours circulating among the top brass and selectors of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) regarding Rohit’s position on the team. According to the report, if India makes it to the WTC Final, the captain will attempt to persuade the selectors to allow him to play. Sydney is probably going to be his “last dance,” though, as the likelihood of that occurring is low.
The report was released right after India’s humiliating 184-run defeat in the fourth Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). With the defeat, India has now lost five and drawn one of their previous six Test matches under Rohit’s leadership.
Under the guidance of vice captain Jasprit Bumrah, India won the first BGT 2024-25 Test in Perth before losing in Adelaide and Melbourne. However, they were humiliated by New Zealand 0–3 at home, for the first time in the nation’s Test history. India was in a losing position, but rain helped them draw in the second Test at the Gabba.
New Zealand recently whitewashed India at home for the first time in Test history. The tie at Gabba happened when rain helped India, who were down in the game, and the sole win in BGT 2024-25 came in Perth, led by vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah.
The Mumbaikar suffered his biggest defeat of the series in Melbourne. The pitch was the flattest yet, but India limited Australia to chaseable targets. Despite having the longest batting lineup, which comprised three all-rounders, India could only rely on two players to reach double figures in the last innings on Monday as they chased 340 runs.
This loss implies that in order to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final, India must win the Sydney Test and hope that Australia fails to win any of the three remaining Tests in Sri Lanka. On the other side, Australia simply needs to win one of these Tests to advance to the final.
It`s been a challenging series for the captain as he only managed nine runs off 40 balls on Monday, leaving him without a score of more than ten in his three Tests. In five innings, he has scored only 31 runs, one more than Bumrah’s total wickets (30) in the series.
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