Rohit Sharma’s Shock Test Retirement Sends BCCI Into Turmoil
In a stunning development that caught Indian cricket’s establishment off-guard, Rohit Sharma has announced his retirement from Test cricket via an understated Instagram story late Wednesday evening. The decision arrived scarcely 24 hours after the BCCI held a star-studded ceremony at its Mumbai headquarters, where living legends Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar were honoured with eponymous rooms.
Sharma, who was absent from the BCCI event because he was leading the Mumbai Indians in an IPL clash against the Gujarat Titans, is reported to have first informed the Board’s top brass of his intention through a private email before going public on social media. His abrupt exit leaves selectors and teammates reeling, with many insisting they had received no prior warning.
Eyewitnesses at the Cricket Club of India say chief selector Ajit Agarkar was spotted locked in a clandestine phone conversation around the same time Sharma’s Instagram story appeared. While it remains unclear whether Agarkar was speaking with the skipper, the incident has fueled speculation that the selectors were completely blindsided by the announcement.
The timing of Sharma’s retirement is particularly striking, coming just weeks before India is set to embark on a five-Test tour of England in June and July. Although whispers had circulated that the selection panel intended to relieve Sharma of captaincy duties for the red-ball side, no formal communication had been issued. A planning meeting held on Tuesday reportedly covered preparations for the England tour, but it is not known whether discussions about leadership changes took place.
On the IPL front, Sharma’s form has been middling: 300 runs at an average of 30 in 11 outings. Reports earlier in the season claimed that the veteran batter was weighing his Test future on his IPL performances—an assertion that now appears prescient. Further off the field, Sharma’s close associate and Mumbai Indians batting coach, Abhishek Nayar, was recently released by the franchise. Sharma publicly thanked Nayar in an Instagram post shortly thereafter, adding another layer of intrigue to the exit.
Despite stepping away from the longest format, Sharma has reaffirmed his commitment to limited-overs cricket. He is expected to retain the ODI captaincy through India’s build-up to the 2027 World Cup, promising to bring his trademark aggression and leadership to the white-ball side for at least two more years.
