'Hitman' Rohit Sharma calls time on India Test career but will continue in ODIs

Opener played 67 Test matches, scoring 4,301 runs, including 12 centuries, since his debut in 2013

Rohit Sharma struggled in Test cricket in the 2024/25 season, averaging just 10.93 runs in 11 innings over eight Tests. AFP

Rohit Sharma rose from humble beginnings to captain cricket-mad India and redefined Test batting with his ability to score big hundreds as he dominated opposition attacks.

The 38-year-old called time on his Test career on Wednesday after playing 67 matches and scoring 4,301 runs, including 12 centuries since his debut in 2013.

“It’s been an absolute honor to represent my country in whites," he wrote on Instagram. “Thank you for all the love and support over the years.”

Rohit struggled during the 2024/25 season, averaging just 10.93 runs in 11 innings over eight Tests.

He replaced Virat Kohli as captain in March 2022 and guided India to 12 wins, nine losses and three draws, while scoring 1,254 runs during that time.

It was a captaincy that ended with back-to-back series losses – a record 3-0 home defeat to New Zealand and a 4-1 loss to Australia that knocked India out of the 2025 World Test Championship.

As a youngster Rohit studied on a scholarship because his family was unable to afford monthly fees of a few dollars.

He overcame all odds to become a cricketing superstar, especially in the white-ball game. He is the only batsman to have scored three double-centuries in one-day internationals.

Prior to his drop off in form, Rohit gave India real firepower at the top of the innings. His selfless approach allowed the rest of the batsmen to play freely.

But the man dubbed the "Hitman" for getting to big scores quickly in spectacular style failed to get past 10 runs in any of his five innings during India's tour of Australia late last year.

He described his performances as "disturbing" while there was also mounting criticism about his decisions as captain.

Rohit missed the first Test in Perth for the birth of his second child, with Jasprit Bumrah assuming the captaincy and playing a starring role with the ball in a big India win.

With India trailing 2-1 in the series, vice-captain Bumrah was named to lead the team at the Sydney Cricket Ground as the visitors battled to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Indian media mockingly noted that Rohit's 31 runs in three Tests was only one more than Bumrah's 30 wickets.

"Rohit, because of captaincy and reputation ... managed to hang on longer than he should have," the Times of India wrote.

Rohit was also way below his brilliant best in the 3-0 Test series whitewash at home to New Zealand in November.

“Thank you, Captain … End of an era in whites! ... We are proud of you, Hitman,” India cricket said in a statement.

For all his struggles in red-ball cricket, Rohit’s mastery with the white ball showed no signs of abating. He captained India to the T20 World Cup title in the United States in 2024 and followed that up with the ODI Champions Trophy in Dubai earlier this year. He will continue to play the ODI format.

Rohit quit T20 internationals following that World Cup success, signing off as India’s highest scorer in the shortest format, plundering 4,231 runs including five centuries in 159 matches since his T20 debut in 2007.

A five-time IPL winner for Mumbai Indians, Rohit took over the captaincy of the white-ball national team in 2021 from Virat Kohli. A year later, Rohit became Test skipper too.

He left a lasting legacy in the shortest format, having featured in all nine editions of the T20 World Cup.

He was part of MS Dhoni's winning team in the inaugural event in 2007, before clinching his second T20 crown 17 years later.

Rohit, who has been criticised for not having the athletic physique of some other players, has also amassed 11,168 runs at an average of over 48 in 273 ODIs.