Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has offered a blunt assessment of Rohit Sharma’s sudden retirement from Test cricket, questioning his absence from India’s final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 against Australia in Sydney.
Shastri, speaking on The ICC Review, said that if he were coach, he would have ensured Rohit took the field for the decisive Test match with the series on the line.
“If I were the coach, you would have never not played that last Test match… You leave a team when the job is done, not when it’s still 2-1,” Shastri said.
Rohit’s Dip in Form Sparked Test Exit
Rohit, 38, announced his retirement from Test cricket after a challenging period with the bat. Since September 2024, he struggled to score consistently, averaging just 10.93 in the home series against Bangladesh and New Zealand.
After missing the first Test in Perth due to the birth of his child, Rohit returned for the next three games but managed only 31 runs across three innings, leading to his exclusion from the SCG Test in January 2025.
“Whatever kind of form he was in, he’s a match-winner. Even a 30-40 run innings on that spicy Sydney pitch could’ve helped level the series,” said Shastri.
Shastri: “This Stayed in My Heart Too Long”
Shastri admitted he had harbored these thoughts for months and felt compelled to express them to Rohit directly during an IPL toss encounter in Mumbai.
“I told him: It’s sitting in my heart for a long time. I had to get it out. And I told him that,” Shastri revealed.
A New Era Begins for India
With both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retiring from Tests, India enters a transitional phase ahead of their five-match Test series in England starting June 20 at Headingley. That series will also mark the beginning of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
As India prepares to rebuild its red-ball core, voices like Shastri’s reflect the passion and intensity still tied to the legacy players and their decisions on and off the field.
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