3 Indian cricketers who should retire from test cricket after Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25

Indian Cricket Team will tour Australia for five-match test series.

India’s shock series defeat against New Zealand at home has exposed many holes in the current Indian setup. The Indian team were completely humiliated for most parts of the series, which culminated in them getting whitewashed for the first time in a home test series of three or more games.

Indian batsmen’s struggles have long been masked by their bowling brilliance in test cricket. Ashwin and Jadeja have been winning home test matches for India in the last decade and in recent years, the dependence on them has been even more.

New Zealand’s remarkable resistance in this series exposed the over-reliance of the Asian giants on their bowling attack.

Up next for India is their most hyped-up challenge of the year: Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. India have been excellent on their last two tours of Australia, winning the series 2-1 on both occasions. This time around, the unexpected sequence of defeats against the Kiwis has shaken the Indian hopes for a hattrick of series wins on the Australian coast.

With the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle nearing its end, the shocking series defeat to the Kiwis has also opened a debate about the changes in the Indian team. Indian cricket has a rich tradition of respecting a senior player’s legacy and the current team, filled with several veterans, is no exception. But a pressing question now buzzing around Indian cricket is, “Is it time to look beyond these legends?”

Regardless of whether India reach the WTC final or not, the next cycle would provide the Indian selectors and team management with a perfect opportunity to reshuffle the team and quicken up the transition period.

In this article, we will look at three Indian cricketers who should retire from test cricket after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. While their absence would be hard to fill, it would begin a necessary transition in Indian cricket.

Three Indian cricketers who should retire from test cricket after Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25:

3. Rohit Sharma

Indian captain Rohit Sharma was poor with the bat and as a skipper in the recently-concluded test series against New Zealand. Rohit is averaging just 29 in test cricket in 2024. While praised for his aggressive intent in limited overs cricket, Rohit seemed to have lost the ability to play long innings in test cricket.

What has frustrated the fans the most is the way Rohit has been getting out recently. After scoring a few early boundaries, Rohit has frequently thrown away starts. Rohit’s reckless approach not only damages his stats, but also exposes the middle order against the new ball.

Rohit has been excellent for India in limited-overs cricket, but his time in the longest format might be up soon. Rohit’s retirement from test cricket will open the doors for players like Abhimanyu Easwaran and Ruturaj Gaikwad who have done well in domestic cricket. At the age of 37, Rohit, who has retired from T20Is, can focus more on ODIs, which is his strongest suit.

2. Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin has been one of India’s biggest match-winners in Asian conditions for more than a decade. Ashwin is hailed as one of the integral parts of India’s leadership think tank.

With the next WTC cycle finishing in 2027, India would like to start preparing for life after Ashwin. Barring this New Zealand series, while his performances have been good at home throughout, the Indian team will keep a close eye on the 38-year-old Ashwin, whose replacement, Washington Sundar, is ready to take the lead role.

After missing the first test, Sundar emerged as the most successful bowler of the IND vs NZ series. This series also highlighted his excellent batting ability, which makes him an ideal replacement for Ashwin.

1. Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli has been in dismal form in test cricket for a while now. Kohli’s numbers in test cricket in 2024 have been shambolic. The Indian superstar has scored just 250 runs across 12 innings with an abysmal average of 22.72 this year.

Kohli’s game against spin has regressed over the past few years. Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner’s numbers against Kohli in the IND vs NZ 2024 series testaments his struggles against left-arm spinners in particular.

Kohli has averaged 30+ just once in the last five years. Kohli’s retirement from test cricket will open opportunities in the middle order. Already retired from T20Is, while his retirement will hurt the Indian fans, it will give Kohli more time to focus on his strongest format – ODI cricket.

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