‘He will retire from Tests’ Kris Srikkanth claims Indian captain has set a deadline for himself

Krishnamachari Srikkanth believes Rohit Sharma may retire from Test cricket if he fails to regain form during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia.

New Delhi: The series defeat against New Zealand has revealed significant weaknesses in the current Indian Test setup, putting Rohit Sharma’s captaincy under intense scrutiny. This marks an embarrassing moment for India, as they experienced their first-ever whitewash at home in a series consisting of three or more Tests. Rohit’s form in red-ball cricket has plummeted, with only 133 runs in his last 10 innings at an average of 13.30. Despite having reached the finals in the first two World Test Championship cycles, India now faces a challenging path to qualify for the upcoming summit clash.

The upcoming five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy, beginning November 22, is critical for India’s chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship final, yet Rohit Sharma’s form remains a significant concern for the Asian giants as they prepare for the series.

Krishnamachari Srikkanth, a star of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, believes that Rohit Sharma is showing signs of aging and may choose to retire from Test cricket if he does not regain his form during the upcoming series in Australia.

“100 percent, you have to start thinking ahead (if India doesn’t do well in Australia). If Rohit Sharma doesn’t do well, I think he himself will retire from Test cricket, for all you know. He will play ODIs only. He has already left T20I cricket. We have to keep in mind that he is also ageing. He is no longer getting younger,” Srikkanth said in his YouTube show.

Srikkanth expressed admiration for Rohit Sharma’s candid acknowledgment of his struggles with captaincy and poor form following the defeat to New Zealand. The Indian skipper emphasized the need to reassess his game and improve his defensive technique in preparation for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

“At least, Rohit Sharma had the guts. Hats off to Rohit Sharma for accepting the fact that he played badly throughout the series and captained badly. That’s a great thing. That’s the first move of a player to get back to the rhythm. Accepting your fault is very important. That’s a very important quality of a human being. He accepted it openly and that means he is on the road to recovery, that’s my opinion,” he said.