Former England National Cricket Team captain Michael Atherton has shared his views on the Test retirement of the India National Cricket Team skipper Rohit Sharma.
Michael Atherton speculated that Rohit Sharma announced his retirement to avoid the embarrassment of being sacked as he sensed it was on the cards.
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Was that retirement completely his own decision, or… – Michael Atherton
On May 7, Rohit Sharma announced his decision to retire from Test cricket and confirmed his non-participation in the upcoming five-match Test series against the England National Cricket Team.
His retirement came out of nowhere, and it left the cricket world shocked. Rohit Sharma retired with 4301 Test runs in 67 matches at an average of 40.57. He led India in 24 Test matches and registered victories in 12 of them.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Michael Atherton said that Rohit Sharma was going through a bad phase as the Test captain because the team was losing under his leadership, and he was not getting runs. He elaborated:
“Was that retirement completely his own decision, or did he get a sense that he’s about to be pushed or the axe was coming because there was a report, the day before the announcement from Rohit, that the selectors had decided to move on.
“So that’s speculation, we don’t know, but ultimately the decision didn’t come as a surprise because it’s a bad combination for any captain, as you know, and as I know well if you’re losing games, and you ain’t getting any runs, and India had lost 5 out of the last 6 matches under Rohit’s captaincy. Three against New Zealand and a couple in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and his form had really tailed off, and of course, that’s a bad combination for any captain.”
I didn’t think it was that much of a surprise – Michael Atherton
Michael Atherton further said that Rohit Sharma’s Test retirement did not surprise him because it was always on the cards, and with the amount of talent available in Indian cricket, selectors were always going to move on.
“He’s 38. There’s a massive depth of talent in Indian cricket. So, given that level, that depth of talent, and the competition, it means that you’re not going to be so patient when form or results go against you.
“And so in that sense I didn’t think it was that much of a surprise. But always sad when a Test career comes to end. He’s been a significant cricketer. The record or statistics wouldn’t suggest, of the very top rank in terms of Test cricket,” said Atherton.
A funny Test career – Michael Atherton
Atherton also labelled Rohit’s Test career as funny, saying that he will be be regarded as one of the greatest ever in ODI cricket but same thing can’t be said about his Test career, despite a good record.
“I think people will look at him and his best format is ODI cricket. He’s going to go down as one of the greatest ODI openers, isn’t he? But a funny Test career. He had to wait for a long time to get in and then almost a career of two halves in Test cricket, averaging just a tick over 40 in the end with a dozen hundreds means it’s a successful record, but not quite a stellar record,” said Atherton.
India and England will clash with each other in five Test matches across June, July, and August in Leeds, Birmingham, London, and Manchester.