Rohit Sharma's test captaincy to be reviewed by BCCI selectors after WI tour - Reports

Rohit Sharma has so far captained India in 7 test matches, winning four, losing two and drawing one.

Rohit Sharma’s captaincy of the Indian Test team is under review, especially after the team’s loss in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC 2023) final loss to Australia recently at the Oval in London.

Australia hammered the Indian team, the majority of whose players came to play this Test right after playing the IPL 2023, and the Indian team didn’t play any practice match, including any intra-squad games as well, during the time they were in the UK.

The match saw Indian bowlers concede 469 runs to Australia in the first innings after putting them in. Their decision to leave out Ravi Ashwin came back to bite them as the pitch dried up after the first day and had an uneven bounce.

India managed 296 and 234 in their two innings and lost the game by 209 runs while chasing 444 runs for the win.

India will have a month-long break before taking off for the Caribbean tour and Rohit Sharma will get back into the captain’s shoes for the 2 Test matches, starting July 12 in Dominica.

Shiv Sunder Das and his colleagues to take a call after the two Tests against West Indies on Rohit Sharma’s Test captaincy

But following the conclusion of the series, he is likely to sit down with the selectors and take a call on his future in the longest format of the game.

Until he decides to skip the two-match series, Rohit will continue to serve as the captain of the Test team in the Caribbean. However, if he fails to record at least one significant defeat, the BCCI top brass, and the national selection committee would feel forced to make a difficult decision.

“These are baseless stuff that Rohit Sharma will be removed from captaincy. Yes, whether he will last the whole two-year WTC cycle is a big question as he would be nearly 38 when the third edition ends in 2025.

As of now, I believe that Shiv Sunder Das and his colleagues will have to take a call after the two Tests and look at his batting form. After West Indies, we have no Tests till December-end when the team travels to South Africa. So, there is enough time for selectors to deliberate and take a decision. By then the fifth selector (new chairman) will also join the panel and a decision can be taken,” a senior BCCI official told PTI.

Since Rohit Sharma took over Test captaincy in 2022, India played 10 Tests and he missed three – one in England due to COVID-19 and two in Bangladesh due to split webbing. He scored 390 runs in 7 Tests and had an average of 35.45 in 11 completed innings with a single hundred and no other score above 50.