Adam Gilchrist feels Rohit Sharma could retire after Champions Trophy, backs Virat Kohli to return as Test captain

Former Australian wicket-keeper bat Adam Gilchrist believes Rohit Sharma could hang his boots after the conclusion of the Champions Trophy. Gilchrist doesn’t see Rohit Sharma traveling to England for the five-match Test series.

Rohit recently had a mundane series against Australia as he scored only 31 runs in five innings at a meager average of 6.20. The Indian skipper also decided to opt out in the fifth Test match at the SCG against Australia as Jasprit Bumrah led in his place. 

In the last 15 Test innings, Rohit has managed a solitary fifty and thus he hasn’t been at his best as a batter.

Adam Gilchrist said on the Club Prairie Fire podcast, “I don’t see Rohit going to England. I just felt that he said he will assess it when he gets home. I mean, the first thing he will be meet with when he gets home is a two-month-old baby that he has to change the nappies on. Now that might incentivise him to go to England. But I know I don’t; I don’t see him pressing on. I think he’ll probably have a crack at the Champions Trophy and that might be. That might see him out.”

On the other hand, the former Australian opener feels Jasprit Bumrah might not be a suitable leadership option because of injury and workload management issues and feels India could go back to Virat Kohli.

“I don’t know whether Bumrah should be full-time captain. I reckon that might get a little bit challenging for him. So, who that next captain may be is anyone’s guess, really, whether they go back to Virat. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wouldn’t mind doing it. But yeah, I haven’t stopped to really think who will be captain.”

Gilchrist highlighted that a challenging time could be on the cards for India in this transitional phase.

“It’s a challenging period coming up for India. They’ve got ready-made replacements. I mean, the IPLs have produced a number of talented players that are lined up across every position, 1 to 11 really, that they could draw on. But it doesn’t mean that it’s instant success at the international level. So I think they could be in for a challenging little period.”

India will next host England for three ODIs and five T20Is.