Rohit Sharma Announces Retirement From Test Cricket With Immediate Effect

Rohit Sharma has announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect on Wednesday (May 7).

Taking to Instagram stories, Rohit posted a picture of his India Test cap and in the caption said he is stepping down from the format.

"Hello everyone! I would just like to share that I am retiring from Test cricket. It has been an absolue honour to represent my country in whites. Thank you for all the love and support through the years. I will continue to represent India in ODI format," Rohit said in the format.

Rohit ends his Test career with 4,301 runs in 116 innings at an average of 40.57. This includes 12 centuries and 18 fifties.

Unceremonious End to Test Career

There had been a lot of speculation over the future of Rohit Sharma in India's Test team, both as a batter and as a captain.

The doubts come due to India's poor showing in Tests towards the end of 2024 - not only were they whitewashed 3-0 by New Zealand at home, they also lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia 3-1.

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Rohit's poor form was a key reason for that loss, as he averaged a paltry 6.20 in five innings and even dropped himself for the final Test of the series at Sydney.

Yet the Men in Blue lifting the ICC Champions Trophy restored a feel-good mood around Indian cricket and most expected any transition talks to shift to the back burner. But that wasn't the case.

Who Will Succeed Rohit?

To make matters more complicated, however, an Indian Express report claimed that no decision has been made on who the successor to Rohit will be.

The need to groom a young leader was stated by a BCCI source in the report, meaning the board are looking at making a long-term appointment.

That almost certainly rules out Jasprit Bumrah, who led the team with aplomb in Rohit's absence during the Australia tour.

Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant stick out as obvious candidates - both are in their 20s and have been part of the Test set-up for a while.

India's next Test series will be in England, which gets underway on June 20.