"Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri did what MS Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher had thought" - Aakash Chopra on Rohit Sharma's Test career after his retirement

Former India player Aakash Chopra has credited Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri for reviving Rohit Sharma's Test career by making him open. He noted that the captain-coach duo replicated the decision taken by MS Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher in the white-ball format in 2013.

Rohit recently announced his retirement from Tests. However, the Mumbaikar, who announced his T20I retirement after leading the Men in Blue to the 2024 T20 World Cup trophy, will continue to represent the country in the ODI format.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener reflected on Rohit's Test career. He pointed out that the stylish batter couldn't make the most of his brilliant start as a middle-order player before Kohli and Shastri made him open.

"He started his career with a century. It was a match against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens. Then we went to the Wankhede Stadium and he scored a hundred there as well. The start of his career was like a rocket being launched. When you start like that, you expect everything to go fine. However, it didn't unfold like that at all," Chopra said (2:20).

"He was in and out, sometimes due to fitness and questions on his form on other occasions. It seemed at one stage that Rohit was very talented and was a white-ball superstar, but he was unable to understand the template of Tests. It came down to now or never. Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri did what MS Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher had thought in 2013," he added.

The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that Rohit grabbed the chance with both hands and went on a century-scoring spree.

"They said they would give him one final chance and see where he goes. I remember him scoring a century while playing with Mayank Agarwal in that match, and then he kept scoring hundreds. When he started opening in Tests, a chapter was started that wrote a new legacy for Rohit Sharma," Chopra observed.

Rohit Sharma scored 176 runs in the first innings and 127 runs in the second essay in his maiden Test as an opener, the first Test against South Africa in Visakhapatnam in October 2019. He scored 212 runs in the first innings of the third Test of the same series in Ranchi and became India's regular longest-format opener thereafter.

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"That will define his Test legacy" - Aakash Chopra on Rohit Sharma's performance in India's 2021 away series against England

Rohit Sharma scored 368 runs at an average of 52.57 in eight innings in India's 2021 Test tour of England. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra opined that Rohit Sharma's performance in India's 2021 tour of England was the defining moment of his Test career.

"Then came the Test tour to England. That was the litmus test. The Test series in England was outstanding. That will define his Test legacy because he played close to 1000 balls in that series. I distinctly remember us talking that Rohit had started loving leaving and defending balls," he said (5:10).

While observing that Rohit continued to perform decently over the next few years, the analyst added that the disastrous run in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 was responsible for ending his Test career.

"He was India's standout performer in that series. He scored runs after that as well. He scored 160-170 runs in the second Test against England in Chennai during COVID times. Eventually, the runs dried up. BGT was the final nail in the coffin. That was the only time when it seemed like Rohit kept himself ahead of the team's need. I think BGT sealed his fate," Chopra observed.

Rohit Sharma managed 31 runs at a dismal average of 6.20 in five innings in BGT 2024-25. He even dropped himself from the final game in Sydney, leading to speculations about his Test career.

Although the 38-year-old dispelled all such rumors at that point, he has now announced his Test retirement, ending his career with 4301 runs at an average of 40.57 in 67 games.