Former India coach Ravi Shastri has revealed what he told Rohit Sharma at one of the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 matches, days before he announced his retirement from Test cricket.
The 38-year-old Rohit on 7 May, 2025 announced his retirement from Test cricket. His decision to retire from the longest format came on the back of a dismal Test series loss for India in Australia. His recent lean patch with the bat in the Test format forced him to sit out from Border-Gavaskar series decider at the SCG in January.
Weeks after Rohit’s retirement, ex-India coach Ravi Shastri has said he would have advocated for the recently retired Test skipper to play the final match against Australia in Sydney earlier this year.
“I saw Rohit a lot at the toss. At the toss, you don’t get enough time to speak. Though I did put my hand on his shoulder in one of the games,” Shastri said in the latest edition of The ICC Review.
“I think it was in Mumbai and told him, if I was coach you would have never not played that last Test match. You would have played that last Test match because the series wasn’t over.
And I’m not someone who threw in the towel with the scoreline 2-1. If your mindset is you feel you are… that’s not the stage, you leave a team,” he added.
From his three matches in Australia, having missed out the first of five Tests due to personal reasons, Rohit scored just 31 runs. In his last eight Tests, which included home series against Bangladesh and New Zealand, Rohit was able to cross the 50-run mark only once, averaging 10.93.
Despite his low returns, Shastri believes he would’ve pushed for Rohit inclusion in Sydney, with the series poised at 2-1.
“That was a 30-40 run game. And that’s exactly what I told him. The pitch was so spicy in Sydney. Whatever kind of form he was in, he’s a match-winner. If he had gone, sensed the situation, sensed the condition and smashed it for even 35-40 at the top, you never know. That series would have been level. But that’s each one to his own,” the former India coach said.
“Other people have different styles. This would have been my style and I let him know it. It’s sitting in my heart for a long time. I had to get it out. And I told him that,” he added.
Leave a Reply