Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag has paid homage to Rohit Sharma after the 38-year-old had declared his retirement from Test cricket. The former Mumbai Indians captain posted the news on an Instagram story on May 7, right around the time rumors were floating around of his potential involvement in the squad selection for the tour to England. He had expressed enthusiasm for the tour but made up his mind to step away from Test cricket just a few weeks ahead of the selection.
The former Indian batsman conjectured in an interview with Cricbuzz that selectors might have conveyed their feelings to Rohit, following which Rohit made the announcement. “It was quite surprising actually. I had heard that he was ready for the England tour. And during the last Test in Australia, he himself had said he was going nowhere and that he was not pretending to be done.”
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Sehwag believed that maybe the selectors had decided to not name Rohit as the Test captain or not include him in the squad for England. “I’m sure they talked to him about their thoughts and gave him options. That’s probably why he announced his retirement before the team was named.”
Sehwag further lavishly complimented Rohit, who always entertained people and was a hopelessly glamorous player to watch. Rohit could have played 100 Tests, but I believe he’s at peace with his choice, he appended. “His career has been incredible. He started in the middle and retired as an opener with impressive achievements.”
Finally, Sehwag thanked Rohit for his contributions to the Indian team. So who would miss a personality like Rohit? He was always a joy for the fans, basically, in all formats of the game. His records speak for themselves. He probably could have played for a few more years and reached 100 test matches, butyes he did good in choosing an early exit. So thank you, Rohit, and all the best on the next journey.”
Rohit played 67 tests, scoring 4,301 runs with 12 hundreds and 18 fifties throughout his career.
