Rohit Sharma likely to opt out of England tour, Virat Kohli to retain spot

Rohit Sharma may not feature in India’s Test series against England to be held later this year. Sources told India Today that the Indian captain has decided not to be a part of the upcoming series after his lacklustre performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

However, sources also said that Virat Kohli is most likely to retain his spot in the Test team. Both Kohli and Rohit had a torrid time in Australia, with Rohit also opting out of the New Year’s Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

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Rohit didn’t play in the first Test at the Perth Stadium where Jasprit Bumrah led India. But since returning for the Day-Night Test at the Adelaide Oval, Rohit has struggled for runs in Tests. In three games, Rohit scored only 31 runs at an average of 6.20.

'Not moving away from this game'

After the veteran batter opted out of the Sydney Test, speculation of him retiring also did the rounds. However, Rohit said that he had no intentions of bidding goodbye to Test cricket.

"This is not a decision of retirement. I am not moving away from this game. But I took a decision to step away from this game because I was not able to score runs with the bat. There is no guarantee that I will score runs 2 months or 5 months from now,” Rohit had told Star Sports.

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“I have seen a lot of cricket, every minute, every second and everyday life changes. I believe that things will change, but at the same time, I have to be realistic as well. People sitting in the commentary box, or writing with a laptop in their hands, will not decide how my life goes," Rohit added.

Virat, on the other hand, scored a hundred in the second innings of the Perth Test, but couldn’t get a big score otherwise. Rohit and Virat made their comebacks in the Ranji Trophy, where they failed to get a big score as well.

However, Rohit and Virat made amends after helping India win the Champions Trophy in Dubai. Rohit scored a match-winning 76 in the final while Virat chipped in with knocks of 100 not out and 84 against Pakistan and Australia respectively.

India’s tour of England starts on June 20 with the opening Test at the Headingley in Leeds. Edgbaston, Lord’s, Old Trafford and Kennington Oval will host the other four Tests.

Published By: sabyasachi chowdhury Published On: Mar 27, 2025

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