Former England captain
Michael Atherton has assessed
Rohit Sharma's Test career following the Indian skipper's retirement from the format after 67 Tests spanning 11 years. Rohit announced his retirement on May 7, ahead of India's upcoming England tour that marks the start of their ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle from June 20.
Rohit concluded his Test career with 4,301 runs at an average of 40.57, including 12 centuries and 18 fifties.
His highest score of 212 came against South Africa in 2019, finishing as India's 16th-highest run-getter in Tests.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. "I think people will look at him and his best format is ODI cricket. He is going to go down as one of the greatest ODI openers, is he not? 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 Test cricket, averaging just a tick over 40 in the end with a dozen hundreds, means it is a successful record, but not quite a stellar record," Atherton said on Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.
Explained: Why Rohit Sharma retired from Test cricket
Rohit's Test journey began with an impressive 177 against the West Indies at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in 2013. Between 2013-18, he played 27 Tests, scoring 1,585 runs at an average of 39.63, with three centuries and 10 fifties in 47 innings.
The right-handed batsman initially struggled in overseas conditions, particularly in South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia (SENA countries). However, he revived his Test career as an opener with two centuries against South Africa at Visakhapatnam in 2019.
During the ICC World Test Championship era, Rohit featured in 40 Tests, accumulating 2,716 runs at an average of 41.15, with nine centuries and eight fifties. He ranks as India's highest run-scorer and century-maker in WTC history, and stands tenth among overall run-getters.
Rohit Sharma’s Final Test Practice: Exclusive Farewell Visuals
Atherton questioned the timing of Rohit's retirement decision, noting his recent poor form of just 164 runs in his final eight Tests with one fifty.
"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.
Poll
Which format do you think Rohit Sharma excelled in the most?
"So that is speculation, we do not know, but ultimately the decision did not come as a surprise because it is a bad combination for any captain, as you know, and as I know well if you are losing games, and you are not getting any runs, and India had lost 5 out of the last 6 matches under Rohit's captaincy. Three against New Zealand and a couple in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and his form had really tailed off, and of course, that is a bad combination for any captain," Atherton added.
