In a surprising revelation, former India team manager Jaydev Shah revealed that Rohit Sharma was not forced to retire from Test cricket by BCCI, but it was his own call. There were rumors that BCCI and Indian selectors forced Rohit Sharma to go down after leaving for a fifth test in Sydney during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
However, they were just speculation, as confirmed by the team manager during the 2024–25 border-Gavaskar Trophy, as the BCCI wanted to plan for the future only. Shah admitted that the turn of his test career came when Rohit was “fallen” from the Sydney Test.,
Rohit Sharma’s test was not the decision of retirement BCCI !!
The former team manager mentioned that Rohit had returned to the team after becoming a father and was passing through a thick patch with the bat. He could not score as before, and due to this he was removed from the final test on the Australia Tour.
cricketballgame.com
Also read: Shreyas Iyer’s Test cricket return started
But soon after, Rohit Sharma directed India to win the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, proving that he still had a lot to offer in white-ball cricket. With a new ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle, BCCI wanted to give more opportunities to young players. Rohit also realized that it was the right time to retreat from Test cricket and to focus more on white-ball cricket.
Rohit Sharma wanted to give another cricketer a chance: Jaydev Shah
Shah claimed that it was a joint understanding, as Rohit wanted to help the team move forward and called himself. But he declared his retirement in May 2025 and took a few months to call his Test career, and then Virat Kohli.
Jaydev Shah said on the sound of influence with Arjun Meenani Podcast, “He had a child, he came back, and he could not score. Well, he was out of the form. He was removed from the last Test, but then he won the Champions Trophy.
I think he thought it is time for him to play more white ball than the red ball and give another cricketer a chance. I think the board was looking at things, we have to prepare our team for the next championshipThis is a two -year cycle, so it is better if the new players set and reach there. ,
Also read: “Yuzvendra Chahal wanted to commit suicide”- Shockwaves sent to Dhanashree Verma
Injuries and future plans forced Rohit Sharma to retire from Test cricket
He further revealed that Rohit Sharma was working with injuries and even Mumbai had missed some IPL 2025 sports for Indians. Looking at his fitness and further challenges, Rohit Sharma felt that this is the right time to step on one side, and Shah said that such a tough call is made by strong leaders such as Hitman.
Shah signed, saying, “And it did not seem that Rohit could take it for two more years. He was also hurt; he too did not play a couple of IPL matches for this reason.
“This was Rohit’s own decision to retire from Test cricket. Such big decisions are taken by big people like Rohit. Rohit wanted the new team to play in the new WTC cycle and give opportunities to young players.”
– Jaydev Shah (Team India Manager during BGT 2024-25… pic.twitter.com/597fcmad4b
– ((@rushiii_12) 31 July, 2025
