Captain Rohit Sharma has admitted that his batting form and captaincy have not met expectations but opted to stay non-committal regarding his future in the Test team.
Rohit faced challenging questions during the press conference following India’s loss in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, where they were unable to secure a draw on the final day.
After his double failures in Melbourne, there was further speculation over Rohit Sharma’s future in Test cricket. His position in the team was being questioned and social media was buzzing with rumours of a possible retirement announcement.
Experts questioned Rohit’s own place in the team and the decision to bench Shubman Gill, one of India’s most impressive players in 2024, fuelled the flames. In an unusually direct statement, legendary cricketer Mark Waugh said that Rohit’s Test career might not go beyond the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Rohit Sharma downplayed external chatter despite the increasing pressure and made an assertion that he will still captain the team in the New Year’s Test in Sydney.
“I stand where I am standing today. There’s nothing to think about what has happened in the past,” Rohit firmly stated in response to a question concerning his recent form dip and India’s Test defeats when he was captain.
“Obviously, we haven’t seen many positive outcomes. Yes, that is disheartening as a captain. Yes, a lot of the things I am attempting to do as a batter are not working out. But it’s definitely unsettling on an intellectual level. If you’ve arrived here, you want to do your tasks effectively. It’s a huge letdown if such things don’t work out,” Rohit said.
Notably, Rohit Sharma was missing during the 2024–25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India’s lone Test victory to date. Jasprit Bumrah led the team to a decisive 295-run victory in the Perth series opener.
For the second Test in Adelaide, where India lost badly by 10 wickets, Rohit returned from paternity leave. After a rain-affected tie in Brisbane, Australia defeated India in their first Melbourne Test in 13 years with the Boxing Day Test defeat.
Since taking over as captain, Rohit has lost all six Test matches, including a humiliating 0–3 thumping at home against New Zealand in October and November. With only 31 runs in six innings throughout this series and 123 runs in his past six Test matches, his batting form has also been poor.
“The visiting team will look to buckle up and win the final Test and draw the series,” the India skipper said, maintaining his optimism.
“That’s where it is right now. As a team, we need to examine some things and I need to examine some of them myself. We shall attempt to keep track of the circumstances. The game is about to begin. It will be 2-2 if the game goes smoothly. A draw will be very pleasant,” he continued.
India will keep the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and increase their chances of making it to the World Test Championship final if they win the Sydney Test, which begins on January 3.
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