Rohit was reacting to media reports in India that had brought his Test future into sharp focus following India’s loss in the fourth Border-Gavaskar Test in Melbourne, which all but ended their chances of qualifying for the WTC final.
“This decision is not a retirement decision,” he told Star Sports during the lunch break on day two of the Sydney Test, in which Jasprit Bumrah is captaining India. “Nor am I going to take myself out of the game.
“I sat out of this match because runs are not coming off my bat. There is no guarantee runs won’t come five or two months down the line. I have seen a lot in cricket that life changes every second, every minute, every day.
“I have confidence in me that things can change, but at the same time I have to be realistic as well. So life won’t change by what people with a mic, pen or laptop write or say. They can’t decide when we should retire, when we should sit out, when we should captain. I am a sensible man, mature man, father of two kids. So I know what I need in life.”
Rohit, India’s Test and ODI captain, missed the start of the Test series on paternity leave. After joining the squad midway through the series opener in Perth, which India won by 295 runs, Rohit slotted into the middle order for the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests to accommodate KL Rahul at the top of the order.
In Melbourne last week, Rohit returned to open the batting with Yashasvi Jaiswal, with Rahul slotting in at No. 3 and Shubman Gill losing out on a place in the XI. However, two failures and a loss on a dramatic final day led to chatter around his place in the XI.
“The chat that I had with the coach and the selector was very simple: my bat is not scoring runs, I am not in form, this is an important match, and we need players who are in form.”
Rohit Sharma
“I made this decision after coming here [to Sydney],” Rohit said. “We had only two days between the matches. On New Year’s, I didn’t want to have this chat with the selector and the coach. But it was in my mind that I am trying my best but I am not getting the runs. I have to accept it and have to get myself out of the way.
“The chat that I had with the coach and the selector was very simple: my bat is not scoring runs, I am not in form, this is an important match, and we need players who are in form. As it is, the boys are not in great form. So I had this simple thought in my mind: we can’t carry out-of-form players.
“That’s why I thought I should tell the coach and the selector what’s going on in my mind. They backed my decision. They said you have been playing for so many years, you are the best judge of what you are doing.”
Rohit’s form has been a concern for a while. He had averaged 13.30 over ten innings against Bangladesh and New Zealand during the 2023-24 home season. And he presided over a 3-0 defeat to New Zealand, India’s first home-series loss since 2012-13.
“It was a difficult decision for me, but if you keep everything in mind, this was a sensible decision,” he said. “I am not thinking too far. Right now, what does the team need? That is what I was thinking. Nothing else.”
