India head coach and former cricketer Gautam Gambhir applauded Rohit Sharma after his Test retirement on Wednesday. Taking to social media, Gambhir posted on X: “A master, a leader & a gem.”
Under the leadership of Rohit and coach Gambhir, Team India has seen polar opposite lows and highs. Where India were whitewashed 3-0 by New Zealand at home, they also lost Border Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1 after leading the series 1-0. However, the same India went on to win ICC Champions Trophy held in Pakistan and Dubai earlier this year.
A master, a leader & a gem! #RohitSharma pic.twitter.com/C6RgU6P18n
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) May 7, 2025
Rohit, 38, announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect on Wednesday, which came a day after the national selectors met and decided to remove him as skipper and go with a new leader for the tour of England that starts next month.
Rohit had already retired from T20 Internationals after leading India to the World Cup title last year. He will, however, continue to play ODIs.
“Hello, everyone. I would just like to share that I am retiring from Test cricket. It’s been an absolute honour to represent my country in whites,” Rohit posted on social media. “Thank you for all the love and support over the years. I will continue to represent India in the ODI format.”
In the list of India’s highest run-getters in Tests, Rohit occupies the 16th spot – with 4,301 runs in 110 outings, an average of 40.57 and 12 hundreds.
Gambhir on Rohit-Kohli
Earlier, on May 6, Gambhir had said any decision regarding Rohit’s future in the team would be taken by the selectors.
“First things first, a coach’s job isn’t selecting the team. It is the job of the selectors to select. The coach only selects the 11 who will play a match. Neither those who coached before me were selectors nor am I a selector,” Gambhir said at ABP News ‘India At 2047′ Summit.
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When pressed further about the veterans’ (Rohit and Virat Kohli) future, Gambhir said no player should be pressed into retirement.
“Till the time they are performing, they should be a part of the team. When you start and when you end is your individual decision. No coach, no selector, no BCCI can tell you when you should call it quits. If you perform, then why 40, you can jolly well play till 45, who’s stopping you?” he said.