Rohit Sharma joins Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Sachin Tendulkar in unwanted list after India's loss in 2nd BGT 2024-25 Test
Rohit Sharma joined MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Sachin Tendulkar in an unwanted list after India's 10-wicket loss to Australia in the pink-ball Test in Adelaide on Sunday, December 8. The defeat marked Rohit's fourth successive loss as Team India's Test captain. India were led by Jasprit Bumrah when they won the first Test against Australia in Perth by 295 runs.
Following the defeat in Adelaide, Rohit became the sixth Indian captain to lose four or more consecutive Tests in a row. Before the loss in Adelaide, Team India were thumped 3-0 at home in a three-match Test series by a New Zealand side led by Tom Latham. The result marked the first instance of India being whitewashed in a home series of three or more matches.
Kohli, statistically India’s most successful captain in the Test format, lost four consecutive matches as skipper in the 2020-21 season. Dhoni, who had a mixed run as Test captain, lost four back-to-back Tests twice during his tenure. The first instance was registered in 2011 and the second in 2014.
As for Tendulkar, who had a poor record as leader, the Indian batting legend lost five Tests in a row as captain during the 1999-2000 season. Among others on the unwanted list, Datta Gaekwad was the first Indian captain to lose four consecutive Tests in a row. Under him, India lost four consecutive Tests against England in 1959.
Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi holds the undesired record for having lost the most Test consecutive Test matches as India's captain. Under his leadership, India lost six matches in a row during the 1967-68 season.
Rohit Sharma has been struggling for runs as well in Test cricket in 2024
Apart from going through a poor phase as captain of the Indian Test team, Rohit is having an extremely poor run with the bat in red-ball cricket. The 37-year-old was dismissed for three in the first innings of the Adelaide Test, trapped lbw by Scott Boland. In the second, he was bowled for six by a peach from Pat Cummins, which angled in and held its line to knock the top of off stump.
Looking at the Indian captain's record with the bat in Tests in 2024, the right-hander has scored 597 runs in 23 innings at an average of 27.13, with two hundreds and two fifties.