India will tour England with a new captain this summer after Rohit Sharma retired from Test cricket with immediate effect.
Rohit, amid a prolonged slump in form and reports he would be sacked as captain, announced his Test retirement suddenly on Wednesday evening. He will continue to play ODI cricket for India and in the Indian Premier League for Mumbai Indians, but also retired from T20Is after winning the World Cup last year.
He wrote on social media:“Hello everyone, I would just like to share that I am retiring from Test cricket. It’s been an absolute honour to represent my country in whites. Thank you for all the love and support over the years. I will continue to represent India in the ODI format.”
Rohit, 38, had been India captain since February 2022, when he succeeded Virat Kohli. He led India in 24 Tests, including a 4-1 victory over England last year, but his term soured later in the year when his own form dipped. India lost 3-0 to New Zealand, their first home series defeat since 2012, then succumbed 3-1 in Australia, when Rohit struggled horribly opening the batting.
Rohit missed the first Test of that series, India’s only victory, for the birth of his second child, and was dropped for the last match of the series in Sydney. In five innings on tour, he made just 31 runs at an average of 6.2.
Rohit’s overall Test record was strong, averaging 40.6 with 12 hundreds from 67 matches. It was effectively a Test career of two halves: between 2013 and 2018 he was in and out of the side as a middle-order batsman before being bumped up to open in 2019, with great success.
It is an open field to replace Rohit as captain. Here are the runners and riders:
Shubman Gill, 25
For so long the coming man with the bat. At No 3, endured a middling tour of Australia, where he was dropped then recalled. Likely to be a staple in the top three now Rohit is gone, and is captaining well in the IPL.
KL Rahul, 33
Would be only a medium-term pick, and has a so-so Test record, having been in and out of the side over the years. But a well-respected figure and a decent captain. Would add an interesting subplot this summer, given he is an investor in Ben Stokes’s gaming company 4Cast.
Jasprit Bumrah, 31
Bumrah is the world’s best bowler in all formats, is a good leader on and off the field, and was Rohit’s vice-captain – in many ways the obvious candidate. But in Australia, India overworked the brilliant Bumrah, to the point that he broke down with a back injury. He surely cannot play every game in long series again, which is far from ideal.
Rishabh Pant, 27
The perfect age, but perhaps not the perfect time. At his best, Pant is the world’s leading wicketkeeper-batsman, but has not hit the heights since a horrendous car crash, and had a disappointing tour of Australia, before a desperate IPL as captain of Lucknow Super Giants. Would not be dull.
Virat Kohli, 36
Surely not? Kohli has been the face of Indian cricket for more than a decade and was a combative, charismatic captain until 2021. But his form has nosedived and he is in the autumn of his Test career, which makes him only a short-term option. Very fun thought, though.
Article courtesy of
Source link
