Rohit Sharma did not announce Test retirement in a hurry: Childhood coach-OxBig News Network

Rohit Sharma’s childhood coach, Dinesh Lad, has dismissed rumours that the India captain retired from Test cricket in haste and due to his faltering form in red-ball cricket. Lad said Rohit wanted to focus on winning International Cricket Council (ICC) titles in Test and one-day international cricket when he retired from T20Is after lifting the World Cup in Barbados last year.

Sources told India Today that the senior selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, had decided not to retain Rohit Sharma as Test captain, and that it would be interesting to see if Rohit would be willing to travel to England solely as a specialist batter.

Hours after the development, Rohit announced his retirement from Test cricket via an Instagram story, much to the surprise of many. Rohit had stated during the tour of Australia earlier this year that he was not retiring from Tests and expressed confidence in regaining his form.

However, Rohit played only one first-class match after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy – turning out for Mumbai against Jammu and Kashmir – and appeared out of form.

“He didn’t take the decision in a hurry. It’s not that he retired because of his form. He didn’t want to play T20Is after the World Cup, but it was his decision to continue with the other two formats he must have thought carefully about what was best for him to do,” Lad told PTI news agency.

“This decision has nothing to do with the upcoming tour of England. The main thought would have been to give the next generation a chance, just like he did after the T20 World Cup last year,” he added.

I WANT ROHIT TO WIN 2027 WORLD CUP: COACH

Rohit Sharma struggled throughout the 2024-25 Test season, enduring a prolonged slump in form. The captain managed just 186 runs across eight Tests. He went through one of the leanest patches of his Test career during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and chose to sit out of the series finale due to his form.

Rohit, however, has confirmed that he will continue to play one-day internationals for India. The BCCI, in its farewell message for Rohit, also emphasised that he will remain part of the one-day set-up.

At 38, Rohit has made it clear that he intends to be part of the 2027 World Cup, and his childhood coach said he should retire only after securing the missing piece in his trophy cabinet. Rohit is aiming to become only the second Indian captain, after MS Dhoni, to win all three major ICC trophies in white-ball cricket.

“His target was the World Test Championship, but unfortunately we didn’t qualify. Now, it’s the 2027 World Cup. I also want him to win the 2027 World Cup and then retire,” Lad said.

The Indian selectors are set to announce the Test squad for the upcoming series in England, starting on 20 June, before the IPL 2025 final.

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