Rohit Sharma has been in the limelight right from the first day of 2025. He opted out of the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
In fact, murmurs even started before that. There were reports that he might call time on his Test career after the Boxing Day Test and once he didn’t feature in the New Year’s Test, those reports got stronger. However, Rohit himself came out and admitted that he wasn’t going anywhere. It was just the lack of runs that prompted him to take the call.
However, Adam Gilchrist believes that we might have seen the last of Rohit, the Test player for India. The Australian legend doesn’t see the current Indian Test and ODI skipper being a part of the series against England in June later this year.
“I don’t see Rohit going to England. I just felt that he says he will assess it when he gets home. I mean, the first thing he will be met with when he gets home is a two-month-old baby that he has to change the nappies on. Now that might incentivise him to go to England. But I don’t see him pressing on,” Adam Gilchrist was quoted saying on the Club Prairie Fire podcast.
Rohit has had a wretched second half of 2024, especially in Test cricket. He has managed a mere 164 runs in his last 15 Test innings and averages 10.93. 11 of those are single-digit scores and there is just one half-century to show. He has played more than 20 balls only four times in this period.
It was not just the runs. Rohit, the Test captain disappointed big time as well. He lost five out of his last six Test matches as captain. His on-field tactics were criticized heavily.
Thus, the 37-year-old’s future is uncertain in the longest format. Overall, his average in Test cricket reads 40.57 at the moment with 4301 runs from 67 Tests.
Champions Trophy may be the last of Rohit, feels Gilchrist
Gilchrist even believes that the Champions Trophy might be Rohit’s last in international cricket. Thus, he feels there might be a change of leadership.
“I think he’ll probably have a crack at the Champions Trophy, and that might be… that might see him out. So, change of leadership,” Gilchrist opined.
Rohit has been exceptional in white-ball cricket, especially in the last couple of years. He led admirably in the 2023 World Cup where he scored 597 runs at an average of 54.27 and a strike-rate of 125.94. India won 10 games in a row before losing the final against Australia. The ‘Men in Blue’ turned things around in the 2024 T20 World Cup under Rohit when they lifted the title to break a 13-year ICC trophy drought.
The upcoming Champions Trophy will be Rohit’s first as captain. His form has been superb in the shorter formats and he is hoping to get back on track through the 50-over format.
