Rohit Sharma Deserves “Shabhash” For Calling Time On Test Cricket

Rohit Sharma deserves kudos for calling time on his Test career that has been far from spectacular, but nonetheless personally satisfying because he got to play so many Tests and led the country as well. He may have taken the call of his own volition, or may have been nudged by someone in the authority. But his expression upon his driving uppishly to mid-off in the MI v GT match at the Wankhede Stadium told its own dismal story. The fact of the matter is Sharma did not have a good run with the bat against Bangladesh, New Zealand and Australia (in all 8 Tests) and he even went to the extent of sitting out in the fifth and final Test in Sydney. The selection committee could not have turned a blind eye to the numbers delivered by Sharma — such a “Bindhas batter” — in the three preceding series. With an average of 10.50 against Bangladesh, 15.17 against New Zealand and 6.20 against Australia the selection committee would have been embarrassed to pick him for the five-Test series in England that would have demanded 25 days of challenging cricket. With a 50% success rate in Tests, Sharma could have continued but the last seven months showed him in poor light in the long form of the game. It’s never easy to quit, but Sharma has done it and he has to be told “Shabhash”. Sharma’s record in England Is good with 10 Tests, 402 runs for an average of 44.67 with his last inning at The Oval getting him a first and only century –127. He scored some runs against England when he was 27 and 34 years old. Now, running 38, it would have been tough on him, and so it was a right call for himself and Indian cricket.