Former India National Cricket Team captain Dilip Vengsarkar has issued a colossal warning, saying that the veteran opening batsman Rohit Sharma will be a major miss in the India tour of England 2025.
The India tour of England 2025, which will feature five Test matches, will be played from June 20 to August 4 across Headingley in Leeds, Edgbaston in Birmingham, Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, Old Trafford in Manchester, and The Oval in London.
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Rohit Sharma is officially out of the India tour of England
India ODI captain Rohit Sharma is officially out of the five-match Test series against the England National Cricket Team as he recently announced his retirement from the purest format of the game.
The 38-year-old announced his retirement decision through an Instagram story, ending the speculations around his involvement in the upcoming Test series against the Ben Stokes-led side.
Rohit’s sudden retirement was always on cards due to his poor returns with the bat in the last year’s home series against Bangladesh and New Zealand, as well as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia.
Overall, Rohit retired from Test cricket with 4301 runs in 67 matches, averaging 40.57. He hit 12 centuries and 18 half-centuries in his Test career.
The highlight of Rohit’s career in red-ball cricket was his exceptional performances in the 2021 England series, in which he showcased his true potential.
Meanwhile, with his exit, India will need to look for a new Test captain, and the names of Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, and KL Rahul are being floated around as the top contenders.
He should have waited till the tour of England and then quit – Dilip Vengsarkar
Speaking about Rohit Sharma’s Test retirement, Dilip Vengsarkar said that the veteran opener made the call at the wrong time, and he should have only made his decision after the series against England.
“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,” he said while praising the modern-day great Rohit Sharma, as quoted by TOI.
“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,” he added.
I still feel he did not do justice to his talent as a Test batter – Pravin Amre
Meanwhile, former India National Cricket Team player Pravin Amre showered high praise on Rohit Sharma for performing consistently in red-ball cricket in the latter half of his career, but opined that he did not do justice to his talent
“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,” he said as quoted by TOI.
“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.”
