09 May,2025 07:58 AM IST | Kolkata | Debasish Datta
Rohit Sharma walks out for the toss before the start of the second Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval last December. Pic/Getty Images; (right) Sourav Ganguly
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly believes Rohit Sharma has taken the right decision to step away from Test cricket given his lacklustre red-ball form.
"I think Rohit has taken the right decision since he was not in the best of form. Probably, this is the reason. No one, other than Rohit, can know better about his own form," former BCCI chief Ganguly told mid-day on Thursday, adding that such a decision has to be a personal call. "This [Test retirement] is a personal decision and no one should impose such a decision on anyone," said Ganguly.
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Rohit had endured a forgettable tour to Australia in which he scored just 31 runs in three Tests. He averaged a poor 6.20 in five innings and dropped himself for the final Test in Sydney. India ended up losing the Border-Gavaskar Series. In the home Test series before that, against New Zealand late last year, Rohit scored just 91 runs in three Tests (six innings) as India suffered an embarrassing 0-3 whitewash - their first Test series defeat on home soil since 2012 (vs England). Rohit's average of just 15.16 in those three matches was symptomatic of a wider struggle in 2024, where averaged 24.8 in 26 innings across 14 Tests.
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Despite Rohit's red-ball struggles though, Ganguly, who captained India in 49 Tests, opined that the Indian team will miss his experience as they embark on a crucial five-match Test tour to England (June 20 to August 4). "Rohit is a superb captain and a superb batter. There is no doubt that India will miss such an experienced cricketer," Ganguly concluded.
Rohit played 67 Tests, accumulating 4,301 runs at an average of 40.57. En route the swashbuckling batter collected 12 centuries, including a career-best 212 during a home series against South Africa in 2019.
