India’s Test captain Rohit Sharma has taken the decision to retire from Test cricket officially at the age of 38. Sharma’s great batting ability and leadership skills are well documented. After a remarkable career of more than 15 years that included 67 Test appearances, he took this courageous decision. He is, however, not retiring from the One Day Internationals (ODIs) and will future play for the country in that format.
Since assuming the captaincy from Virat Kohli in 2022, Sharma has captained India in 24 Tests. He has uttered that sweet victory line in 12 of those bouts. His tenure included notable achievements, such as reaching the final of the World Test Championship in 2023, where the Indian team faced a challenging defeat against Australia. Sharma’s captaincy brought his team an enviable win percentage. This places him second only to Kohli’s across all formats, a testament to his impact as a captain.
After those heights, Sharma went through a few lows recently including a disappointing 3-0 home defeat to New Zealand and 3-1 series loss against Australia in last year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy. His overall contribution to the team has been enormous. He has a stellar average of 45.41 in Tests, scoring 4,301 runs. With an average of 40.57 and 12 centuries to his name, he’s just a freak. His highest total is 212, made against South Africa in Ranchi in 2019. He accomplished this feat in only 255 balls!
“It has been an absolute honour to represent my country in whites,” – Rohit Sharma
Sharma expressed gratitude to his supporters, saying, “Thank you for all of the love and support over the years.” As he steps away from Test cricket an era in Indian cricket comes to a close. He was an extremely successful run-scorer and captain, so unique that his funky swagger was once considered a separate style of cricket.
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