Former England captain Michael Atherton stated that Rohit Sharma‘s retirement from Test cricket did not come as surprise, given the dip in his performance and leadership skills.
He mentioned that the BCCI was thinking about removing Rohit. Atherton said that the circumstances were unavoidable due to Rohit’s diminishing form and India’s dismal performance under his leadership.
“Was his retirement entirely his own choice, or did he have a sense that he was about to be pushed out? There was a report just a day before Rohit’s announcement suggesting that the selectors had made the decision to move on from him. Of course, that’s pure speculation, but ultimately, the decision wasn’t unexpected. It’s a tough position for any captain when you’re not scoring runs and your team is losing. India lost 6 out of their last 8 matches under Rohit’s leadership three against New Zealand and three against in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. His form had significantly dipped,” Atherton said on SKY Sports.
“He is 38 and with the vast pool of talent in Indian cricket, the competition becomes fierce. When your form or results start to decline, questions are raised. So, in that sense, I didn’t think it was that much of a surprise. He’s been a significant cricketer. The record or statistics wouldn’t suggest in terms of Test cricket,” Atherton added.
Additionally, Atherton pointed out that given the abundance of talent in Indian cricket, a captain is always under the scanner.
“I think people will look at him and his best format is ODI cricket. But his Test career was an interesting one. He had to wait for a long time to get into the side, and then his career almost split into two distinct phases. Finishing at an average of just over 40 and 12 hundreds means had a successful career, but not quite a stellar one,” Atherton concluded.
