As the Indian Premier League (IPL) crosses the halfway stage and gets closer to the business end, talk of what lies ahead after that has started getting louder. Other than enjoying the advent of a fresh crop of teenagers, cricket fans have started preparing for the Test series in England commencing in June. India last won there in 2007. After that, they lost three series and drew the last one.
Amid worries over the availability of the frontline fast bowlers, a batting line-up which has been brittle of late and a dip in the team’s graph in Test matches overseas, quite a few eyes are on Rohit Sharma. He opted out of the last Test India played — in Sydney earlier this year — due to the lack of runs from his bat. In eight Tests in 2024-25, he aggregated 164 at 10.93.
Rohit averages 40.30 in England in seven Tests, which is almost equal to his career average of 40.57. His only century in the country came in 2021. Not many expected him to succeed as a Test opener in the swinging conditions of England, but he won that challenge on that tour and made scores of 83 and 59, other than the knock of 127.
However, a lot has changed since. Rohit became the skipper in all formats, retired from one, transformed himself into an early aggressor in white-ball cricket, won two ICC titles and saw his growing Test reputation suffer a bit somewhere in the process. After making two centuries and leading India to a come-from-behind 4-1 series win against England at home early last year, his Test returns have been negligible.
On a day he turns 38, Rohit is still scoring runs in the IPL and helping Mumbai Indians rebuild their campaign after a shaky start. There is no doubt about his ability to dominate bowlers in the shorter formats. The problem is, the same can’t be said of him when it comes to the longest format. And England can be a bad place for five Tests, if a batter has technical and other issues to sort out. Remember Virat Kohli in 2014?
There will be debates over Rohit’s place in the Test squad and the selectors will face the unenviable task of taking tough calls. It’s not easy to drop him, while he is no longer an automatic choice either. Then comes the trickier question of what to do with an out-of-form captain? Sitting out — like Rohit did in Sydney — is not an everyday option. And he has said that he not retiring from Tests. So what are the alternatives that the selectors have?
Jasprit Bumrah led the team in Rohit’s absence last season. There were signs that his game got sharper when he had that added responsibility. There being no guarantee over his presence in five Tests in England queers that pitch. Shubman Gill had been touted as future captain, but there is no chance of that happening right now. Rishabh Pant’s stocks have fallen of late. The selectors may have to fall back on Rohit simply because there isn’t anybody else.
Of course, India’s fortunes in England will not depend on one individual. Simplistically speaking, batters have to make runs, bowlers have to take wickets and fielders have to hold on to the catches. But given that Rohit is not just another squad member, whatever he does or whatever is decided of him, will draw wider attention. There will be scrutiny and pressure — perhaps the kind Rohit has not always come across in his 67-Test career.
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