Rohit Sharma posted on social media on Wednesday, May 7, announcing his immediate retirement from Test cricket. During the home series last year, Rohit had a terrible run against New Zealand and Bangladesh.
Rohit dropped himself for the tour’s last Test in Sydney after his performances in the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia progressively declined.
The Indian selection committee will appoint a new Test captain prior to the five-match series because of Rohit Sharma’s decision, as the tour of England is scheduled to start in June.
In a conversation with journalist Vimal Kumar, Rohit, who is now playing for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL, discussed various facets of the sport.
Here are the five main points Rohit made in the interview, given the IPL’s one-week suspension:
1. “2023 World Cup has a special place in my heart”
Rohit Sharma stated in an interview with Vimal Kumar that although though India lost to Australia in the final, the ODI World Cup 2023 has a special place in his heart. Prior to losing in the final, India won every match.
“2023 World Cup has a special place in my heart. After losing the match, we couldn’t quite accept the fact that we had lost the final. I had to switch off after the loss and went out of the country for 15 days but it’s not easy to switch off because the thing which you were wanting for so many years just slipped from your hands despite being so close. It’s easy to say to get switched off after the loss because everyone worked so hard.”
Rohit Sharma
The Men in Blue performed brilliantly throughout the competition, but they lost at the last second. According to Rohit, there was a feeling of expectation and conviction that they will perform exceptionally on match days throughout the tournament. He stated:
“The cricket which we played in 2023 was something else. The fun of playing cricket was totally different in that tournament. When I used to wake up during the match days, I am generally a very nervous person on match days. In that tournament, especially during the game days, it was a different feeling altogether. Today it will be fun.
Rohit Sharma
“Every match the feeling was great. The atmosphere was the best in the dressing. I hadn’t played cricket in that sort of an atmosphere before and credit goes to the coaching staff and everyone. It was just not because we were winning, the senior players and the coaches played a massive role.”
Rohit Sharma
2. Rohit’s next aim is to win ODI World Cup 2027
Rohit Sharma’s interview remarks revealed his unhappiness with the 2023 World Cup final. However, after leading India to the 2025 Champions Trophy and the 2024 T20 World Cup, he seemed to have moved on.
Rohit currently hopes to win the 2027 World Cup, which will be played in South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, after Test and Twenty20 International cricket have been eliminated from the competition. Rohit stated that he is considering it and that it would be wonderful if he could include the ODI World Cup trophy in his cabinet.
“Zehem mein bilkul hai (on playing ODI World Cup 2027). Bilkul (It’s definitely on my mind, without a doubt. Acha rahega agar aisa hua to (It would be great if that happens- on winning the ODI World Cup).”
Rohit Sharma
3. “KL Rahul is a crisis man”
KL Rahul’s batting style has been heavily criticised in recent years. However, Rohit Sharma praised the batsman-wicketkeeper and called him India’s crisis man.
Additionally, he praised the seasoned campaigner for always putting up his hand for the team and helping out when needed.
“Pichle do teen saalo mai toh mere liye important player rahe hai woh. I look at him as a crisis man. Jaha pe humko KL se kuch karvana tha toh KL ne haath uthaya.” (In the last two-three years, he has been an important player for me. I look at him as a crisis man. Wherever we needed KL to do something, he has raised his hand.)
Rohit Sharma
“Keeping karna hai, chalo mai karta hu. Yaha pe batting karna hai, karta hu.” (Have to do keeping, he will do it. Have to bat anywhere, he will do it).”
Rohit Sharma
4. Questioning commentary standards
Rohit Sharma criticized Indian cricket commentators for their agenda-driven remarks and criticized the sport’s commenting standards. He asserted that pundits ignored in-depth game analysis and singled out players who were struggling.
During the tour of Australia, Rohit Sharma’s form was the talk of the town. Despite having a terrible run, he only managed to score 31 runs in six innings. In Rohit’s opinion, the commentary from abroad was superior to that from India.
“You guys are focused on creating controversy, on blowing up news. The quality of journalism has gone down. Earlier, conversations would revolve around cricket. Now, it’s all about getting views, likes, and making more people read your articles. Very little is written or spoken about the game itself. Tactics, analysis – it’s all missing. When there’s a match on, we watch it on TV. But listen to how commentators speak these days.
Rohit Sharma
“When we go to Australia, we hear their commentary and the difference in quality is vast. Here, it’s so disappointing – and I’m being very honest. It seems like they just want to single out a player and keep talking about him or her. It’s very disappointing.”
Rohit Sharma
He felt there was a way to criticize rather than being agenda driven.
“Yes, things have sometimes gone out of our hands and we haven’t performed well. We fully deserve criticism for that. Yes, we didn’t do well against New Zealand at home – so yes, criticize us. But there’s a way to criticize people. I think here, it’s agenda-driven criticism. That’s not likeable.”
Rohit Sharma
5. “Sports played to win games and trophies not achieve personal milestone”
Rohit Sharma decided to play the aggressive role after India’s crushing loss to England in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final, and it was a brilliant move for the Indian team in white-ball cricket.
Rohit told Vimal Kumar that the goal of the sport was to win games and trophies, not to reach personal goals.
“It is very fascinating and exicting for people who are doing stats. People who are sitting on television doing a chat among themselves and keeping talking about stats. You won’t find everyone with good numbers but if you are producing results that is what matters. This is very important to inculcate this nature in India that personal 50s, personal 100s, personal fifers whatever that is it doesn’t matter.
Rohit Sharma
“If you have lost that match, then it counts to nothing. It hit me hard during the 2019 World Cup. Hit five hundreds, scored 650+ runs but we eventually lost the semi final so it doesn’t matter at all. The game is different in Ranji Trophy, when you are here it’s all about winning games, series and trophies.
Rohit Sharma
“Even if you have scored just 40 runs in that series but have won the series, that is what matters. Sports is played to win games, trophies, not your personal milestones. I hope Indian cricket focuses on winning games rather than playing for personal milestones.”
Rohit Sharma
