Rohit Sharma Reveals The Mental Challenges Behind Test Cricket

Former Indian Test captain Rohit Sharma recently reflected on his Test cricket journey after retiring from the format a few months ago this year. He has played a total of 67 Test matches and scored over 4,300 runs. He said that red ball cricket is both mentally and physically tiring.

At a recently concluded event, Rohit said that Test cricket is not like all other formats, as this format requires a lot of mental strength. In the final of the 2023 World Test Championship against Australia, he led the team as captain.

He said,

"This is something you prepare for, because the game demands long periods of stay. Especially in the test format, you have to stay for five days. Mentally, it is very challenging and tiring too. But all cricketers have grown up playing first-class cricket."

The 28-year-old also said that growing up in Mumbai and playing longer-format matches helped him handle the pressure of Test cricket.

"When we start playing cricket at a competitive level, even in Mumbai, club cricket matches go on for two or three days; we are prepared that way, and it starts for us from a very young age. It makes it a little easier to know how to deal with the situations that come your way," he said.

Further he said,

"When you are playing the longest format, it takes a lot, and concentration is something that is most important, because you are talking about high-level performance, and when you are expecting high-level performance, it starts with being mentally fresh all the time. A lot of work starts behind the scenes. As I said, with preparation. I have to go back to that again because that's where everything starts. You prepare yourself to stay on the field for a long time."

Rohit decided to bid farewell to his Test career with an impressive record by scoring 12 centuries and 18 half-centuries. He played his last Test match against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25 and decided to opt out of the last Test due to poor form.

It is worth noting that he has already retired from T20 Internationals after leading India to victory in the T20 World Cup 2024 against South Africa. Now, ODIs are the only format in which he will be seen wearing the Indian team jersey.