"His heart would have been set on playing one more series" - Former selector's huge claim on Rohit Sharma's Test retirement

Former Team India chief selector MSK Prasad has hailed Rohit Sharma's selflessness behind announcing his Test retirement with immediate effect on Wednesday, May 7. Prasad said Rohit may have made the decision keeping in mind the upcoming squad announcement for the England tour, but felt he would have liked to play one more series.

On Wednesday, the 38-year-old put out an Instagram story, announcing his retirement from Test cricket. However, he expressed his intention to continue playing ODIs, having already retired from T20Is after winning the format's World Cup last year.

Speaking to India Today, Prasad suggested that it was the right decision by Rohit, keeping in mind the new World Test Championship cycle that will begin this year (2025-27). He said:

"I think in the next few days, the selectors might be picking the team for the Test series, so that's the reason. That's why he would have taken the call. The second thing is, since the two-year cycle is going to start from this series, he's probably keeping that in mind as well. Though he would have wanted to play this series-he's got a decent record in England-his heart would have been set on playing one more series before making a final decision."

The right-handed batter's place in the Test side came under massive scrutiny after he managed only 31 runs in three Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 Tests in Australia. The veteran had dropped himself from the final Test in Sydney due to lack of runs but strongly denied retirement rumors.

"That was a time when we were also having a bit of a problem with the openers" - MSK Prasad on promoting Rohit Sharma

MSK Prasad. (Image Credits: Getty)

Reflecting on their decision to promote the right-hander as a Test opener in 2019, MSK Prasad said Rohit's prolific run at the top in white-ball cricket and lack of suitable candidates prompted the move. In the same interview, the 50-year-old said:

"The decision we had was that, after scoring five centuries in the World Cup, we thought someone who could get runs in England and score so consistently-why not? That was a time when we were also having a bit of a problem with the openers. You know, Mayank Agarwal had just started coming in, they were too young, and Murali Vijay had faded out. And since Rohit was in fantastic form, we thought, why not give him an opportunity as an opener?"

Shubman Gill has emerged as a strong contender to replace the 38-year-old as the Test captain, as Team India's tour of England looms.