Rohit Sharma is not retiring; neither is he quitting as India’s captain. A day after his decision to skip the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Sydney rocked the cricket world, Rohit broke his silence on the matter by confirming that he was neither rested nor opting out… and definitely not dropped. Rohit said he would use the word “stood down” to describe his situation.
In Frame: Rohit Sharma
“I stood down, that is what I would say,” Rohit told Star Sports during the Lunch break on Day 2 of the Sydney Test.
The Indian captain clearly explained why he decided not to play the fifth Test and how he informed head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar about his thought process.
“The chat that I had with coach and selectors was that I’m not scoring runs, we need players in form. Simple fact: you can’t carry out-of-form players for too long. It was my duty to inform the coach and selector about my thoughts. They said, ‘You’ve been playing for a long time, you take the call’. It was a difficult choice but for the team’s sake it was the right decision to take the team forward. I took the decision after coming to Sydney. We just got two days, one was New Year’s, didn’t want to tell the selectors about this during the New Year. I tried a lot but nothing was happening so it was important for me to step aside,” he said.
Rohit made the call after scoring 31 runs in five innings across three Tests.
The 37-year-old white-ball genius Rohit appeared to be a ghost of his former self throughout those innings, finding it difficult to execute even his standard shots, such as the front-foot pull.
Rohit’s form, especially in Test cricket, has declined since the glory of winning the T20 World Cup. In his last eight Test matches, the seasoned right-hander has only amassed 164 runs at an average of 10.9 runs. Additionally, Rohit’s 2024 season ended up being his lowest in Test cricket, with an average of 24.76.
However, Rohit affirmed that he currently has no plans to retire from any format. In actuality, he is preparing to score runs and make a batting comeback.
“The decision is not to retire. I’m not going to step aside (as captain). I have decided to step aside from this Test because I’m not scoring (enough runs). There is no guarantee that I won’t score runs after two months or five months. I have seen things happen like this many times. But at the same time, I’ve also got to be realistic,” he added.
When Star Sports presenter Jatin Sapru thanked him and gave him an emotional send-off for his selfless act, Rohit interrupted by saying, “I’m not going anywhere,” and walked off, leaving Sapru and Irfan Pathan in splits.
Despite withdrawing from the series final, Rohit remains an integral part of the Indian team’s leadership. On Day 2, Rohit came onto the field during the morning session’s drinks break and spoke with wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant and substitute captain Jasprit Bumrah for a long time. After Mohammed Siraj and Bumrah took three wickets in the opening hour of play on Saturday, they immediately put India back on track for the Test match.
Wearing a reserve player’s bib, Rohit came onto the pitch and engaged Bumrah and Pant in a lengthy, passionate conversation.
READ: Jasprit Bumrah injury
