‘Was that retirement completely…’: Former England captain makes unexpected remark on Rohit Sharma’s Test retirement
Atherton reacts to Rohit's Test retirement
Former England captain Michael Atherton made a unexpected remark on Rohit Sharma’s sudden Test retirement. Rohit Sharma recently annouced his retirement from Test cricket ahead the commencement of the five-day test series against England in June.
Rohit Sharma announced his retirement through an Instagram story, where he also mentioned that he would continue leading India in the One-Day format. His decision came amidst speculation that the selectors might not consider him for the captaincy in the upcoming Test series against England.
Rohit’s form has declined in recent years, and India’s defeat to Australia in the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy only added to the pressure on him. Atherton said that while Rohit’s retirement was unexpected, he likely realized that his spot in the team was no longer guaranteed.
“Was that retirement completely his own decision, or did he get a sense that he’s about to be pushed or the axe was coming because there was a report, the day before the announcement from Rohit, that the selectors had decided to move on?” Atherton said while speaking on Sky Sports.
“So that’s speculation, we don’t know, but ultimately the decision didn’t come as a surprise because it’s a bad combination for any captain, as you know and as I know well if you’re losing games and you ain’t getting any runs and India had lost 5 out of the last 6 matches under Rohit’s captaincy,” he added.
Rohit retired from Test format after playing 67 Tests scoring 4301for India, which includes 18 half-centuries and 12 centuries, at an average of 40.58.
“I think people will look at him, and his best format is ODIs. He’s going to go down as one of the greatest ODI openers, isn’t he? But a funny Test career. He had to wait for a long time to get in and then almost a career of two halves in Tests, averaging just a tick over 40 in the end with a dozen hundreds means it’s a successful record, but not quite a stellar record,” he added.