Rohit Sharma’s Test career over? This player can be next captain on England tour

New Delhi: The recent performance of the Indian team in red ball cricket has not been anything special. Team India first suffered a crushing 0-3 defeat in the three-match Test series at home to New Zealand. Then it had to face a 1-3 defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 on the tour of Australia. Due to losing six out of the last 8 Tests, the Indian team could not even reach the final of the current cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC).

Indian captain Rohit Sharma’s performance in the Test series against Australia was not very good and he could score only 31 runs in 5 innings. Hitman Rohit had decided to keep himself out of the Sydney Test due to poor form. Then Rohit came out to play for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, where he scored 31 runs in both the innings against Jammu and Kashmir.

Now the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has started planning for the future in red ball cricket. According to the report of news agency PTI, it is now difficult for Rohit Sharma to make a place in the Test team. According to the report, Rohit Sharma is unlikely to be selected for the England tour starting in June.

The Indian team has to play a five-match Test series on the England tour. The PTI report said, ‘Jasprit Bumrah can return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Mumbai Indians (MI) and then lead the Indian team on the England tour as Rohit Sharma is unlikely to be selected for the Test again.’

The report further said, ‘It is understood that Bumrah was excluded from the Champions Trophy because he has not yet started bowling at full capacity. Those aware of the matter say that it was very difficult to get match fit in such a short time.’

Jasprit Bumrah has captained India in three Test matches so far, in which the team won one and lost two. Bumrah first captained the team in the Birmingham Test in 2022, when Rohit Sharma was battling Covid. India lost that Test against hosts England, but Bumrah showed signs of being a good captain. Then Bumrah led the Indian team to victory in the Perth Test against Australia in November 2024. Bumrah also took over the captaincy in the Sydney Test last month, in which the Indian team had to face defeat.

Rohit Sharma will turn 38 before the Test series against England. During the Sydney Test, Rohit Sharma spoke to broadcaster Star Sports. During this, Rohit had made it clear that he is not retiring yet. Rohit had said, ‘I am not going to retire soon. I decided to withdraw from this match only because the runs were not being scored. I will work hard and make a comeback. Runs are not being scored right now, but there is no guarantee that runs will not be scored even after 5 months.’

India-England Test Series Schedule (2025)
June 20-24, 1st Test, Headingley
July 2-6, 2nd Test, Birmingham
July 10-14, 3rd Test, Lord’s
July 23-27, 4th Test, Manchester
July 31-August 4, 5th Test, The Oval