On 7th May 2025, Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma quietly retired from Test cricket. He posted a gracious and grateful message on his Instagram story, thanking the opportunity he received to represent India in all-white. He also posted a picture of his Indian cap alongside his emotional message. Rohit Sharma’s retirement message, out of nowhere, comes as a shock to everyone, especially after the lead-up to the events that led to his retirement call.
After 67 tests, 117 innings, 4301 runs, 18 fifties, and 12 hundreds, Rohit Sharma decided to hang up his boots and his white clothes for India.
“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,” read Rohit Sharma’s Instagram story. There was no press conference, no prior announcement, no big speech, not even a video message. It was simple, precise, and to the point, leaving millions of his fans shattered with this news overnight.
While experts had their premonitions about this announcement after the Border-Gavaskar series in 2024-25, no one could quite say for sure if and when it would happen. Most thought that if it had to happen, it would’ve happened right after the Border-Gavaskar series, where India lost to Australia quite badly with a 3-1 defeat.
But since he didn’t make any announcement then, and with the England Test tour on the heels of the IPL 2025 (which has now been postponed due to the Indo-Pak tension escalations amidst the ghastly Pahalgam attack), most people assumed that he was going to play the 5-test match series in England, starting 20th June. Besides this assumption, there were also good reasons for Indian cricket fans to be assured of Rohit’s place in the playing XI against England.
Ahead of the 5th Test match between India and Australia in Sydney earlier this year, Rohit Sharma didn’t make it to the Indian playing XI. As always, speculations were rife as to what happened, with most assuming that Sharma was dropped for his poor form leading up to that match.
However, mid-innings during the Test match, Rohit Sharma did an interview with presenter Jatin Sapru and former cricketer Irfan Pathan in Hindi. There, he mentioned that he had taken the decision to drop himself, which was received with mixed feelings by the Indian public, and that he would continue to put the interest of Team India in front.
At the end of the interview, Sharma also dismissed any speculations about his retirement when Sapru paid a tribute to his career, in a way you usually pay someone after their career comes to an end. Sharma was quick to refute any such rumor that could’ve originated from that message.
Later on, after leading India to the 2025 Champions Trophy victory, that too unbeaten, Rohit Sharma further solidified his stance on not retiring at the press conference. He was also interviewed by Michael Clarke for his Beyond23 Cricket Podcast, where Rohit Sharma was interested in playing the upcoming England series and discussed at length about the kind of bowling he would like to have.
None of these scenarios indicated anything about his then-impending retirement. Nonetheless, he retired, and he did so almost covertly. It speaks volumes about not only the sportsman that Rohit Sharma is, but also the kind of human that he is. He had always been a team player first, but in recent years, he displayed that part of him even more boldly.
He brought a subtle change to his style of play and took on the aggressive opener batsman role, both in Tests and ODIs. He often spoke about what was more important for the team, and less about his scores. Therefore, when he retired from Tests without any fuss or frills, it once again displayed his nonchalant nature towards himself. Rohit Sharma didn’t crave for any personal adulation or rewards, but instead, what’s great for the team.
Why Did Rohit Sharma Retire Now?
Let’s be honest, Rohit Sharma has had a poor season in Test cricket in the past year or so. He failed to score many runs in the two-test match home series against Bangladesh last September in 2024. But India managed to win the series 2-0, and his lack of runs was seen as an aberration.
Soon after, New Zealand toured India, and the home team looked as if they were gearing up for another series whitewash or at least a series win. What followed in that series was not only unprecedented, but it also shook the entire cricketing world. Everyone was in disbelief. New Zealand managed to beat India in a Test series in India for the first time.
Not only that, they also won the third test match and whitewashed India 3-0 in the process. The most shocking part of it all – they did it in India’s own backyard, where the pitches were conducive to spin, mainly to help the Indian spinners. The plan backfired, and New Zealand took full advantage of that situation.
This put a severe dent in Rohit Sharma’s batting record as well as his captaincy. India made many unfavorable records with that series loss – first time whitewashed on home soil, handed NZ their first test series win, got whitewashed by NZ for the first time in Tests on home soil, and lost a Test series at home after 12 long years. India last lost a Test series at home against England (2-1) in 2012. These many unwanted records were too much for Rohit Sharma to fathom. They weren’t going to be swept under the rug without Sharma facing some consequences.
But the Australia series was right on the heels of the devastatingly poor New Zealand series. Rohit Sharma didn’t want to make any decision in haste, and neither did the BCCI. India went to Australia to play a 5-test match series, which seemingly looked like it was going to be multiple times more difficult than the NZ home series.
Firstly, it was on foreign soil, secondly, the conditions and the pitches were different, and finally, playing in front of the harsh Australian crowd would be no joke for any team. Rohit Sharma missed the first Test in Perth due to the birth of his second child. India was being led by Jasprit Bumrah.
Just like the NZ series shocked everyone, the result of the first Test match at Perth also shocked most cricket fans. India won the first Test at a location where Australia has barely ever lost a match. Arguably, Perth is the harshest of all places in Australia for any visiting team to win.
It is mainly due to the excessive bounce and pace on the pitch that Perth has historically always offered. But this time India won, and that too in a dominating manner. India thumped Australia with a 295-run victory and set the tone for the remainder of the series. Jasprit Bumrah was hailed for his bowling and captaincy, but Rohit Sharma was back before the second test.
There was no doubt that Sharma was going to assume the role of the captain immediately. What followed the Perth test match was once again a sad-but-bitter reminder of what had happened against NZ a few months prior. Barring the rain-affected 3rd Test match at the Gabba, India lost all the remaining matches.
Australia won the series 3-1 and took back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a decade-long wait. India played well in parts, and Jasprit Bumrah in particular was fantastic. He was also adjudged the Man of the Series, despite India’s loss, for picking up 32 wickets at a staggering average and strike rate in the series. But Rohit Sharma’s tryst with bad form continued throughout the series.
Luck had to run out sooner or later for Rohit Sharma in tests. Many assumed then, after the end of the Australia tour, that this might’ve been the end of the road for Sharma in tests. However, things calmed down after the series was over. India headed back home and prepared for a slew of white ball games.
First, there was the England series and then the Champions Trophy. India was outstanding in all of them. Rohit Sharma even scored a hundred in an ODI, but it was a white ball game, and the next Test series, i.e,. The England tour was far away.
It looked like Rohit Sharma would give the one last shot at red ball cricket in the England series, and call it quits afterwards. Alas, he did it even in the middle of the IPL, even before the series began.
What Are Rohit Sharma’s Best Test Knocks? What Would His Legacy Be Like in Test Cricket?
Rohit Sharma retires after playing 67 tests for India, having scored 4301 runs at a batting average of 40.57. His average was largely hampered due to his complete lack of form in 2024. He still scored 18 fifties and 12 hundreds, with one double century in his career.
Rohit Sharma’s most standout series in Test cricket with the bat was the 2019 South Africa series. South Africa toured India for a 3-test match series, and Rohit Sharma scored a twin hundred in both innings of the first test match in Vishakapatnam. He scored 176 and 127 respectively, and helped India register a 203-run win. In the second test match, he didn’t get many runs, but ended up scoring his highest-ever Test individual score in the third test match in Ranchi. Rohit Sharma made 212, and India won the match by an innings and 202 runs. India had registered a 3-0 win over South Africa.
While this was the standout series for Rohit Sharma, a series that was very impressive was the England series in 2021. During COVID-19, when India toured England for a 5-test-match series, India were in the dominating position. After the first test match ended in a no result, where India was in a winnable position, India managed to secure a win at Lord’s in the second test.
Rohit Sharma scored a very impressive 83 in the first innings, which went a long way in helping India win. He further scored a 59 in the second innings of the 3rd Test match in Leeds, but sadly couldn’t save India from an innings defeat. However, his most splendid knock came in the second innings of the fourth test match at The Oval.
India was trailing by 99 runs in the first innings and could very well have lost. Rohit Sharma took the reins of the match in his hands and scored a patient, well-crafted, and well-compiled 127 off 256 balls. India scored 466 and ended up winning the match by 157 runs. Given the situation in the game and the conditions in which he played, it was probably one of his most stellar knocks in Test cricket.
Rohit Sharma’s legacy in test cricket will be playing and scoring runs for India in some of the hardest conditions to bat, especially when others weren’t scoring runs, and the responsibility fell upon him. While his numbers may not truly display his potential, Rohit Sharma started opening the batting in an era when batting was the hardest across the globe among all test-playing nations. The value of those runs is far more than those scored on flat tracks.
As for his captaincy, he ran the team like an elder brother, as many younger players would attest to it. He was strict at times, he was funny at times, but overall, he was loving and supportive to his players at all times. His stump mic moments will always be hilarious, and his players will always remember him for being one of the best captains of India.
