Former Indian batter Pravin Amre reckons Rohit Sharma didn’t do justice to his talent in the red-ball format after he announced his retirement. Rohit played 67 Tests during an 11-year career, leading in 24 of them since taking over the reins of the team from Virat Kohli in 2022. He ends his career with a total of 4301 runs at an average of 40.57, including 12 centuries.
Rohit could only manage 31 runs in three Test matches against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2024-25 at an average of 6.20 and also stood down in the final Test against Australia at Sydney, casting a doubt on his Test future.
Rohit’s best phase in Test cricket came between 2019 to 2022 when he scored runs all over the world.
Pravin Amre said while talking to TOI, “Fantastic defensive game and an in-born game-sense that every Mumbai batter usually has. He had that confidence always. He used to play a lot of shots and get caught in the outfield initially. Maybe that is why the early consistency was lacking. But once he figured out his game, he became consistent. But I still feel he did not do justice to his talent as a Test batter.”
On the other hand, former Indian captain Dilip Vengsarkar said Rohit should have waited for the England tour before hanging his boots from the pristine form of the game.
The former Indian selector told TOI, “He has that rare gift to pick length early. That allows him to defend or attack off front or back foot. He never takes pressure about bowlers or conditions. I fear that India will miss him as an experienced opener. He batted very well in 2021, left a lot of balls and batted time. He should have waited till the tour of England and then quit.”
Rohit is currently playing for Mumbai Indians in the IPL.