"If I was coach.."- Ravi Shastri reveals how he would've managed Rohit Sharma's test career climax

Rohit Sharma retired from test cricket on May 7.

Indian batting legend Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from tests on May 7. Sharma was the skipper of Indian Cricket Team in the longest format since February 2022. After his retirement, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are busy finding a new skipper who can effectively lead the side in the upcoming England test series.

Rohit Sharma’s retirement came after Indian Cricket Team failed to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia. The Indian team lost the series 3-1 Down Under. The series defeat also finished India’s chances of qualifying for ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 final.

Sharma missed the opening test of the series due to personal reasons. Later, he also dropped himself from the final test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Sharma flopped with the bat across five innings of three tests, hitting just 31 runs with a top knock of 10.

Rohit Sharma is a match-winner: Ravi Shastri

During a conversation on the ICC Review show with host Sanjana Ganesan, former India coach Ravi Shastri revealed how he would have handled Sharma during the BGT 2024-25 if he was the coach. Shastri said he would have forced Sharma to play the final test match against Australia as the series was not over. He also added that he had a conversation with Sharma regarding the same.

“I saw Rohit a lot at the toss. At the toss, you don’t get enough time to speak. Though I did put my hand on his shoulder in one of the games. I think it was in Mumbai and told him, if I was coach you would have never not played that last Test match,” he said.

“You would have played that last Test match because the series wasn’t over. And I’m not someone who threw in the towel with the scoreline 2-1. If your mindset is you feel you are… that’s not the stage, you leave a team,” Shastri further added.

Shastri also believes Sharma would have made an impact with the bat as he is a match-winner and Sydney pitch was a little spicy. Hence, the series would have ended in a 2-2 draw.

“That was a 30-40 run game. And that’s exactly what I told him. The pitch was so spicy in Sydney. Whatever kind of form he was in, he’s a match-winner. If he had gone, sensed the situation, sensed the condition and smashed it for even 35-40 at the top, you never know”, he 62-year-old said.

“That series would have been level. but that’s each one to his own. Other people have different styles. This would have been my style and I let him know it. It’s sitting in my heart for a long time. I had to get it out. And I told him that,” the cricketer-turned commentator added.

Notably, Shastri was the coach of Indian Cricket Team when they won their first-ever test series in Australia in January 2019. Later, he also helped the side to repeat the feat in the BGT 2020-21. Shastri was the head coach of the Indian team from 2017 to 2021.

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