The former Australian wicket keeper Adam Gilchrist mentioned that all through his time in Sydney with Rohit Sharma during the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he felt Rohit would announce his Test retirement. Rohit decided to withdraw himself from selection due to the poor performance of just 152 runs from 13 innings since last September, averaging 11.69; indeed, during the three matches he played in Australia, his average fell below six as he ended up having the worst batting numbers among visiting captains.
“It is kind of a strange thing to say, but I am happy for him; if the decision is already put in place, I had that feeling while we were discussing before in Sydney. When he decided to withdraw himself, my thoughts went to Test cricket coming at an end. He seemed ready to take a back step now and figure things out with the Champions Trophy ahead,” Gilchrist added to Cricbuzz.
Rohit Sharma retires from Test cricket‼️@gilly381 & @bhogleharsha react, on #CricbuzzLive#India #RohitSharma @myvoltas pic.twitter.com/UjqDReZlT3
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) May 7, 2025
Meanwhile, surprisingly, the decision shocked his teammate Ajinkya Rahane; Rahane did not even learn of Rohit’s Test retirement announcement that same day while engaged in an IPL match for Kolkata Knight Riders against the Chennai Super Kings.
The 36-year-old Rahane, close friends with Rohit from their Mumbai days, will soon make contact with him; even after having been away from the national fold for two years, Rahane is clinging to the hope of comeback. Rohit will surely be in action when Mumbai Indians take on Punjab Kings on Sunday, May 11, at Dharamsala.
