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Team India are going through a transition period after the retirement of their legendary players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin. Following the retirement of these legends, there are speculations that they were forced to bid adieu to the longest form of the sport. Ashwin’s retirement came after playing the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2025 in Adelaide while Rohit and Kohli hung up their boots in May. Rohit’s form was the talking point after India's 1-3 series defeat against Australia as he could score only 31 runs in five innings of three matches at an egregious average of 6.20.
Following the miserable performance, Rohit also played for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 and there is a belief among his fans that he wanted to serve India in cricket’s oldest form but he was forced to retire. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has denied such speculations frequently.
In the latest development, Jaydev Shah, who was Team India’s India’s Manager in BGT 2024-25, has revealed that the veteran player himself took retirement decision as he wanted the new players to participate in the fresh two-year World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. "Two-year cycle hai, usme hi agar naye players set ho jaate hai aur hum pahuch jaate hai toh zada acha hai. Kyuki aisa nahi lag raha tha ki Rohit can take it for two years, as per his injury. IPL me bhi 2 match nahi khela, woh thoda groin me tha. Mere khayal se wohi usko lag raha tha ki thik hai abhi chod deta hu, I will give new players a chance as this is a two-year cycle and let a team grow and build nicely with new players," said Jaydev on VOICES OF IMPACT podcast with Arjun Mirani.
Rohit Sharma expected to play ODI series vs Australia in October 2025
Rohit Sharma’s last international match was against New Zealand in the Champions Trophy 2025 final in Dubai. In the Men in Blue’s four-wicket win, he chipped in with 76 off 83 and the veteran also got the Player of the Match (POTM) award for his stunning batting display.
The 38-year-old is likely to be seen in Indian jersey against Australia in the three-match ODI series, set to be played Down Under. Rohit will aim to help India win their first 50-over series on Australian soil after six years. In 2019, India won their last ODI competition in Australia under Virat Kohli’s captaincy.
