Rohit Sharma ‘stood down‘ as the captain of the India cricket team in the final match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The decision was lauded by many. He’d taken one for the team. He realised that his horrid form wasn’t helping the side. If Team India were to level the series 2-2 and retain the BGT, he must let drop himself and bring Shubman Gill back into the mix.
Rohit Sharma’s form
The move didn’t quite turn out how he’d hoped, but it was thought that mattered. Captains have rarely dropped themselves, but Rohit Sharma was willing to do so. Commendable as it may be, it might have been the wrong move. Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar feels the opener’s decision to bench himself might end up hurting his Test career.
“The skipper, Rohit Sharma, was out of his depth and having taken the brave decision to step aside, because of his form, he has also raised big questions about his future in Test cricket,” Gavaskar wrote in his column in The Sydney Morning Herald.
Rohit Sharma may not retire, but BCCI might retire him
Rohit Sharma has already made it clear that he isn’t announcing his retirement from Test cricket. His form and age aren’t helping his cause, and some claim that he didn’t bench himself but was dropped. It’s out in the open that he had a chat with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir after the Melbourne Test.
It was only then decided that he wouldn’t play the fifth Test. Now whether he was dropped or he dropped himself isn’t certain. But, returning to the issue, what Sunny G says holds truth. When he was absent from the XI, the scoreline of the BGT was 1-1. Team India won in Perth, and had Jasprit Bumrah, the interim captain, been fit, the Sydney Test could have ended differently.
BCCI now knows that winning without Rohit Sharma isn’t impossible. Given his form and the fact that he won’t carry on for long, there is no point in waiting for him to get back into runs. Him being a part of Team India’s next Test series against England won’t help BCCI or Team India plan for the future. What Gavaskar suggests might indeed be true.
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