Veteran Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma has announced his retirement from Test cricket on Wednesday, May 7, officially informing the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about his decision. Following his announcement, former cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar criticized Sharma on social media, pointing out his poor batting form over the past year.
Rohit Sharma made his Test debut for India in November 2013 against the West Indies and went on to represent the national team in 67 Test matches. His final appearance in the format came against Australia in December 2024. Sharma took over the Test captaincy in February 2022, succeeding Virat Kohli.
During the latter part of his Test career, Sharma primarily played as an opener for India. However, his performance and fitness became a growing concern for selectors over the past year. The 38-year-old struggled with the bat, particularly in India’s last two Test series against New Zealand at home and Australia away.
Sanjay Manjrekar Criticizes Rohit Sharma on X Following Test Retirement
Former Indian opener Sanjay Manjrekar took to the micro-blogging platform X (previously known as Twitter) on Friday, May 9, to share a critical tweet about Rohit Sharma. Manjrekar highlighted Sharma’s disappointing statistics from his recent appearances in home Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand.
“164 runs in his last 15 innings. Among them, 10 were at home against Bangladesh and New Zealand, averaging just 10.9. Considering his current fitness levels… Rohit Sharma’s time as a Test opener was over. So…,” he wrote on X. You can view the tweet below.
164 in his last 15 innings. Out of which 10 were at home v Bangladesh & NZ. Average 10.9. With his current fitness levels…Rohit Sharma’s days as Test opener were over. So…
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) May 9, 2025
The India vs Bangladesh Test series was held in September-October last year, where Sharma managed to score 42 runs in four innings, and India secured a 2-0 series victory. Later, in the three-match series against New Zealand in October-November 2024, the Indian opener accumulated 91 runs across six innings.
Sharma chose to sit out during the Sydney Test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. In that away series, he managed only 31 runs in five innings. Sanjay, Over the course of 2024, the right-handed batter scored a total of 619 runs in 26 innings, averaging 24.76, with two centuries and two half-centuries.
Despite retiring from Test cricket, Sharma will continue to lead India’s ODI team. He had already announced his retirement from T20Is last year after leading India to the ICC T20 World Cup title in 2024.