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Fitness Is Important! Rohit Sharma Should Retire From Tests After Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Probuddha Bhattacharjee

Rohit Sharma playing in Test cricket [Source: @CricCrazyJohns/x.com]Rohit Sharma playing in Test cricket [Source: @CricCrazyJohns/x.com]

The Indian team is getting ready to face the toughest challenge in their calendar year. The Asian Giants will be touring Australia for a five-match Test series. Rohit Sharma and his men will be looking to put on a strong display and maintain their record of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. 

The designated captain of the team, Rohit Sharma will not be available for the first match of the game. However, he is expected to return for the second game and play the rest of the series. Sharma will opening for India and in Australia that is going to be a crucial spot. But the recent form of the Indian stalwart has been a reason to worry for the management.

Given the current trajectory of Rohit Sharma's Test career, should he retire after the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy, if don't qualify for the WTC finals? Let us analyse and answer this question.

Rohit Sharma's Recent Test Form

Rohit Sharma's Test AVG at the end of each year [Courtesy: Datawrapper]Rohit Sharma's Test AVG at the end of each year [Courtesy: Datawrapper]

Rohit Sharma was at the peak of his Test batting abilities in 2019. He averaged over 90 that year. Since, 2019 there has been a dip in Rohit's Test batting numbers. He has averaged over 40 during a couple of seasons in 2021 and 2023. During the other couple of seasons his average has been less than 30. Given that he bats at the opening spot, the lack of consistency opens up weak spots in the batting line-up of the Indian team.

Rohit Sharma, the Test opener

Rohit Sharma began his Test career as a middle order batter. However, under the captaincy of Virat Kohli he was asked to open the innings for the team. Here is the record of Rohit Sharma as a Test opener - 

Matches
Innings
Runs
Average
100s/50s
18291,22643.783/5

The star Indian batter has started opening the innings for India from 2019. However, the dip is seen in his numbers from 2021. Let us check his records alongside the openers from other countries since this period. The minimum matches played by these players is 10.

Player
Innings
Runs
Average
Yashasvi Jaiswal141,40756.28
Dimuth Karunaratne292,52550.50
Usman Khawaja282,32649.48
Imam-ul-Haq131,02346.50
Ben Duckett241,89644.09
Tamim Iqbal1072940.50
Rohit Sharma322,12938.70

Table - Record of Test openers around the world since 2021

When the averages are compared Rohit Sharma ranks seventh from 2021 among the top openers with an average of 38.70. This numbers are indeed concerning when India as a team is looking to dominate the cricketing world.

The 'New Intent' In Batting

Rohit Sharma in Test Cricket [Source: @ImTanujSingh/x.com]Rohit Sharma in Test Cricket [Source: @ImTanujSingh/x.com]

Rohit Sharma has recently talked a lot about batting with intent to give positive starts to the team. This new approach by Rohit worked wonders in the T20Is. However, in Test cricket, the demand from an opener is to play long and lay a strong foundation for the team. In the recent days, we are seeing some quick fire cameos from the Indian skipper but those are not getting converted into big impactful knocks. This has put the batting line-up in pressure in most cases and has resulted in India's defeat.

The premier Indian batter has also gone down when it comes to physical efficiency. There is a lot of difference between a young Rohit and the Rohit of now when it comes to running between the wicket. With cricket evolving fast, Sharma's lack of efficiency in this department is also a concern for the Indian management.

Conclusion

Rohit Sharma is a world class batter especially in white ball cricket. He can take the attack to the top bowling attacks and tear them apart in the limited overs. However, in Test cricket the impact that was expected of him has been missing off late. It has looked like he is throwing away his wickets even after good starts. 

Given the class of Sharma and the playing conditions in Australia, he might fire big in the BGT. However, the lack of temperament that has been noticed in his batting lately will surely come back to haunt him if elongates his Test career for too long. So, if India fails to put in a proper show in the BGT, it is probably time for Rohit Sharma to hang up his boots in the longest format for the game.