Rohit Sharma may not have announced his retirement from Test cricket yet but going by his body language noticed by former Australia coach Justin Langer it may be only a matter of time before the Indian captain bids farewell to the longest format of the game. Rohit the batter has been a pale shadow of his once dominant self. After a terrific start to the year, where he drew the Test series in South Africa, scored two centuries against England at home and led India to a famous T20 World Cup win, the second half of 2024 has been all but forgettable. Besides embracing fatherhood for a second time, Rohit’s fall has been well-documented.
In July, under Rohit, India lost their first bilateral ODI series against Sri Lanka after 28 years, and things worsened when India’s 12-year-long run of dominance was ended by New Zealand 0-3 at home. As the Australia tour goes, India’s only win of the series came in a match Rohit didn’t feature in, and once he was back, the team returned to losing ways in Adelaide and now Melbourne. The internal chatter suggested that Rohit may walk away after the MCG Test but is now likely to continue until Sydney. However, once that is done, Rohit mustn’t prolong his Test career into the fresh World Test Championship cycle, as India’s next Test series – outside of the WTC final – begins against England in June. And based on what Langer saw, it only reaffirms the belief.
“Rohit Sharma looks very tired to me. I saw him quite emotional on the field yesterday. That’s unusual for us to see Rohit like that. He’s usually so calm, so chilled out. But he was showing his emotions; he looks tired. It’s understandable because as a cricketer, when you’re not making runs, that’s all that stays on your mind. And as captain, if you’re not making runs and your team is not winning, the stress starts to come into the game. Whether he can get up for Sydney, that’s up to him. It’s a big challenge. India need him to get up to speed in Sydney,” Langer said after Australia beat India by 184 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
And he sounds about right. Rohit has appeared short of answers captaining the team. Yes, he was back dishing out gems that were captured by the stump mic and firing up his players, but the fire in his belly seems to have doused. Not having fielders around the bat when the ball is in India’s court, lack of proactiveness, and just mere body language indicate that he’s probably out of gas. In Adelaide, he left his gloves on the field after getting out, leading to speculations, but after the Sydney Test, curtains could come down on a career that left a lot more to be desired.
What about Virat Kohli?
In comparison, like Ravi Shastri, Langer sounded confident about Virat Kohli, Rohit’s partner in crime, carry on though.
“With Virat, I agree [with Shastri]. He looked excellent in that first innings. Maybe the run out [of Jaiswal] did ruffle him, but we were surprised to see him get out the way he did. He is still a great player, is in outstanding physical condition, and all Indians would be hoping he comes good,” he added.
