Rohit Sharma's Sydney Test Absence Cost India The Series, Says Ex-Selector

Former selector Jatin Paranjpe stated India could have leveled the Border-Gavaskar trophy if Rohit Sharma hadn't taken a back step in the Sydney Test. The right-handed batter decided to drop himself from the last test of the five-match test series against Australia after he went through a rough form in three tests he played. The former captain failed in scoring runs, scoring just 31 runs. With the series being in Australia's favor at 2-1, the Indian captain opted out of the decider match, and with that, Jasprit Bumrah led the team in his absence.

Earlier, a few months back, Rohit Sharma posted a story on his social media account stating an announcement from Test cricket just before the squad announcement for the England tour. Just after five days of his retirement, Virat Kohli also took the same decision, bidding goodbye to the longest format of the game, which he loved the most.

ROHIT SHARMA'S TEST CAREER

Rohit Sharma has played a total of 67 Test matches with an average of 40.57, scoring 4,301 runs. His fate changed in the longest format in 2019 after he started opening for India. From 2020 to 2024, he was one of the most consistent players for India in Test. However, from September 2024, his form dropped a bit.

"Rohit was not playing Test cricket..." - Jatin Paranjpe

To all this Parajpe said,

"I remember he was not playing Test cricket for India. And we had this conversation, and he said, 'I started playing cricket with a red ball, Jatin. How can you say that I am not interested in Test cricket?' I got the message, and I was hoping that was what he would say."

Further, he said,

"He said he lives for Test cricket. I think Rohit Sharma could have done a lot more in Test cricket. I think he would be the first one to say that as well. I was a little bit disappointed that he chose to drop himself in Sydney because we could have leveled the series."

Team India lost the Sydney Test, and with that, they even lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In the Sydney Test, he said in an interview that he was not going anywhere, but now, a few months ago, his retirement was a shocker to everyone.