Rohit Sharma announces retirement from Test cricket

Veteran batsman and Team India captain  Rohit Sharma has  announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect.

The development came minutes after reports of Rohit being sacked as Test captain went viral over various social media platforms.

The prolific batter has scored a total of 4301 runs in 67 Tests with 12 hundreds and 18 half centuries at an average of 40.57.

The veteran batsman who excelled in Test cricket during his second half of his career has captained India to the World Test Championship final against Australia.

A report was recently published in some sections of media suggesting that BCCI selection committee has decided to sack Rohit Sharma as India's Test captain for the upcoming England tour. 

Must Read: BCCI planning to remove Rohit Sharma from test captaincy?

Rohit, who is likely to remain as India's ODI captain, may travel to England as part of the squad as a specialist batter. However, the selectors were reportedly not ready to keep him as captain based on his recent form in the longest format of the game.

Rohit Sharma announces retirement from Test cricket

Notably, India lost five out of their last six Tests under Rohit's captaincy against New Zealand at home and against Australia away. Rohit, who went through a horrible form in Test cricket, dropped himself from the playing XI for the last Test at Sydney.

"...It's been an absolute honour to represent my country in whites. Thank you for all the love and support over the years. I will continue to represent India in the ODI format," wrote Rohit on Instagram while announcing his retirement from Test cricket.