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"Hard To Replace": Ex-Aussie Captain Warns India After Rohit Sharma’s Shock Test Exit

Kaushik Kashyap

Michael Clarke and Rohit Sharma. [Source - the_sports_x/x.com]Michael Clarke and Rohit Sharma. [Source - the_sports_x/x.com]

Former Australian captain Michael Clarke has shared his insights on the leadership void left by Rohit Sharma following his unexpected retirement from Test cricket. Clarke shed light on how India will deeply feel the absence of Rohit in the longest form of the game.

Rohit Quits Tests Out of the Blue

Rohit, who recently led India to a Champions Trophy victory, had shown no public signs of stepping away from Test cricket. In fact, during a candid conversation with Clarke in his podcast, not long ago, Rohit expressed his desire to continue contributing in the red-ball game with the England Tests coming up.

His participation in the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai and his comments during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, despite missing the final Test in Sydney, indicated his idea of continuing to play Test cricket. However, the decision to retire may have been influenced by the Indian selectors' moving on from his leadership, ahead of the crucial England tour this summer.

Clarke Raises Red Flag Over India's Test Captaincy Future

This unexpected move has sparked widespread speculation across the cricketing world, with fans and experts like Clarke who thinks how Rohit's technical side and tactical brilliance in the red-ball format will be a huge miss for the Indian side in the longest format.

“He is a player that any team would miss. Tactically as captain he will be very hard to replace. He read the game exceptionally well,” Clarke said as quoted by Revsportz.

Now the main question is who will step up to take the reins in Rohit's absence. Names like Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, and even Rishabh Pant have been floated as potential candidates, but no official word has been given.

With the tour of England just around the corner, a decision is expected within the coming weeks. Until then, uncertainty looms large over India's red-ball future which has suffered a huge blow in recent times, having missed their first World Test Champions Final qualification after losing at home for the first time in 12 years and against Australia in Australia for the first time since 2014-15.