"His Bambaiya Hindi also conveyed a stern message" - Sunil Gavaskar's huge statement on Rohit Sharma's captaincy post latter's Test retirement

Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar has hailed Rohit Sharma's captaincy skills following the latter's Test retirement. The 38-year-old walked away from the red-ball format after playing 67 Tests for India.

Rohit took over captaincy in 2022 and led Team India in 24 Tests, winning 12, losing nine and drawing three. Under him, India finished runners-up in the 2021-23 World Test Championship (WTC).

However, Rohit's leadership credentials dipped recently when India missed qualifying for the 2023-25 WTC final after back-to-back series defeats to New Zealand and Australia.

Talking about Rohit's captaincy in his column for Mid-day, Gavaskar wrote:

"As a captain, his laid-back manner hid a steely resolve to win. His Bambaiya Hindi also conveyed a stern message to the younger members of the team in a humorous way. Not only the cricket-loving public but even the media will miss the interactions they used to have with him at the end of the day’s play."

Tests aside, Rohit has thrived as India's white-ball captain, leading the side to glory in the 2024 T20 World Cup and 2025 Champions Trophy. He retired from T20Is immediately after the T20 World Cup last year.

Rohit will continue to play ODIs for India, as he confirmed in his Instagram post, while announcing his Test retirement.

"The Indian tri-colour flew proudly" - Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar praised Rohit Sharma's efforts as the Indian captain in bilateral series and ICC events. Team India went unbeaten, winning 13 consecutive games under Rohit in their title runs in the last two ICC white-ball events.

They also won all their matches in the 2023 ODI World Cup under Rohit before losing to Australia in the final.

"Under Rohit Sharma, the Indian tri-colour flew proudly at bilateral series and the world events, with India being in the final three times and winning twice. So, a huge round of applause and a standing ovation to him as he bids Test cricket goodbye," wrote Gavaskar (via aforementioned source).

While Suryakumar Yadav took over as India's T20I captain following Rohit's retirement from the format, their next Test captain is still undecided. India will play a five-Test series in England, starting June 20.