"If Rohit Sharma doesn't do well, I think he himself will retire from Test cricket"- Kris Srikkanth on Indian captain's Test future after 2024-25 BGT
Former Indian captain Kris Srikkanth feels current skipper Rohit Sharma will retire from Test cricket should he struggle in the upcoming 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. The 37-year-old has been in woeful form in Tests, averaging under 14 over his last 10 Test innings.
Rohit has scored 50+ only once in that stretch, leading to questions about his future in the long format. Added to his misery is Team India suffering an embarassing 0-3 home Test series whitewash to New Zealand under him.
At 37, Rohit isn't getting any younger and Srikkanth feels the champion batter could play only ODIs if the Australia Tests do not go to plan.
"You have to start thinking ahead (if India doesn't do well in Australia). If Rohit Sharma doesn't do well, I think he himself will retire from Test cricket, for all you know. He will play ODIs only. He has already left T20I cricket. We have to keep in mind that he is also ageing. He is no longer getting younger," he said on his YouTube channel.
Srikkanth, however, praised Rohit for acknowledging his frailties as captain and batter during the New Zealand series.
"At least, Rohit Sharma had the guts. Hats off to Rohit Sharma for accepting the fact that he played badly throughout the series and captained badly. That's a great thing. That's the first move of a player to get back to the rhythm. Accepting your fault is very important. That's a very important quality of a human being. He accepted it openly and that means he is on the road to recovery, that's my opinion," he stated.
Despite his recent struggles, Rohit has enjoyed a stellar Test career with 4,270 runs at an average of over 42 in 64 outings.
"It's too early to talk like this about Virat Kohli" - Kris Srikkanth
Kris Srikkanth backed Virat Kohli to return to his best form in the upcoming Australia series and feels talks about India moving on from him in Tests are premature.
Much like Rohit, Kohli endured a dismal series against New Zealand, averaging 15.50 in the three Tests. Infact, the 35-year-old has been in poor form in Tests throughout this year with an average of only 22.72 in six games.
"In my opinion, Virat Kohli will start doing in Australia (comeback). His area is Australia. I think that's his strength. I think it's too early to talk like this about Virat Kohli (moving on from him). I won't accept it. Virat Kohli has got a lot of time. One or two bad years of Test cricket," Srikkanth said.
Team India boast a proud recent record in Test series against Australia, winning their last four with two of them coming down under and will look to continue the same form. The high-octane five-Test series will begin in Perth on November 22.