Rohit Sharma, on Wednesday (May 7), announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect. The veteran batsman announced his decision on social media while also confirming that he would continue plying his trade for Team India in the 50-over format.
His decision comes with just over a month remaining before the five-match Test series against England begins. He recently expressed his excitement over leading India in the Test series during his appearance on former Australia captain Michael Clarke’s podcast.
Rohit retired with immediate effect from Tests
However, the Indian selectors reportedly wanted to remove him as the Test captain ahead of the series. And with the squad to be announced later this month, Rohit Sharma decided to bring down the curtains on his Test career.
“Hello everyone, I would just like to share that I am retiring from Test cricket. It’s been an absolute honour to represent my country in whites. Thank you for all the love and support over the years. I will continue to represent India in the ODI format,” said Rohit in his statement.
Rohit’s Test career spanned more than a decade. He made his Test debut during the 2-match Test series against West Indies in 2013. In 2022, he also replaced Virat Kohli as the captain of the Test team. Overall, Rohit played 67 Tests and scored 4301 runs with the help of 12 centuries.
Gautam Gambhir pays tribute to Rohit Sharma:
The cricketing fraternity has been busy paying tribute to Rohit Sharma on his illustrious Test career. Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir has joined the bandwagon as well.
Soon after Rohit announced his decision to retire from Tests, Gambhir took to X (formerly Twitter) to pay tribute to the India batting star. Gambhir hailed Rohit as a ‘master, leader and a gem’.
Here is the post from Gautam Gambhir for Rohit Sharma:
A master, a leader & a gem! #RohitSharma pic.twitter.com/C6RgU6P18n
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) May 7, 2025
Just like Rohit, Gambhir also faced severe criticism after India’s poor performance in Tests last season. He will be hoping for a better show from Team India in the upcoming series against England. While India has completely dominated England at home in recent years, they have not been able to do well on English soil.
India have not won a Test series in England since 2007 and will be keen to end the unbeaten run in the upcoming series.
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