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Rohit Sharma retired from Test cricket on May 7 and left his fans desolated ahead of India’s crucial five-match Test assignment in England. The veteran opener was struggling to be among runs in red-ball cricket which led to his fierce criticism. After he lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 as captain in Australia, things worsened as under his leadership, India lost a Test series against the Aussie side for the first time after 2014. During the tour Down Under, he looked completely out of rhythm with his bat, amassing only 31 runs in five innings. Following the miserable series, Rohit’s critics were questioning his place in the Test side. However, on May 7, the legendary top-order batter retired from cricket’s longest format and left his supporters emotional.
Days after the massive development, former South Africa batter Daryll Cullinan spoke to Hindustan Times and said Rohit Sharma’s Test retirement should’ve happened much before and his absence won’t affect Team India much in the upcoming England Test series. Cullinan remarked, "Rohit's retirement was probably long overdue in terms of test cricket away from India. Let's be honest about it. He hasn't really been the player that he throughout his career has been at home and we saw reluctance from him in recent Australian series to really take it on and lead from the front. So I don't see that as being a loss for India at all."
Daryll Cullinan berated Rohit Sharma during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25
Earlier, during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, Cullinan called out Rohit Sharma for his fitness and labelled him as flat-track bully. Comparing him to Virat Kohli, the Protea had said the India One-Day International (ODI) captain isn’t a long-term option for Team India.
"Rohit is overweight and not in good physical condition to endure a long Test series. Compare him to Virat, and the difference in their fitness levels is striking. Rohit is no longer a long-term option for India," said Cullinan then.
