Rohit Sharma’s future as the Indian Test captain is uncertain after the team’s defeat in the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final. Questions have emerged regarding Rohit’s captaincy, especially with a new WTC cycle beginning and concerns about his age during the 2025 WTC final. A report by the Press Trust of India (PTI) suggests that Rohit’s future as captain beyond the West Indies series is in doubt. If the 36-year-old fails to perform well in the upcoming series starting on July 12, the selectors might consider a change in leadership. However, a senior BCCI source dismissed the rumors, stating that there are currently no grounds to remove Rohit from the captaincy. The source emphasized that Rohit’s batting form will be evaluated after the West Indies series before any decision is made.
Rohit initially hesitated to take on the role of Test captain when Virat Kohli resigned in January 2022 due to fitness issues. It was only after convincing from former president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah that Rohit accepted the responsibility, following KL Rahul’s unsuccessful stint as captain in South Africa.Having captained India in seven Test matches, with only one played outside of India, Rohit has led the team to four victories, suffered two defeats, and achieved one draw.Rohit, 36, has had to deal with frequent injury concerns in the recent past. The star batter missed crucial Test tours, including India's tour in South Africa, the rescheduled Test in England in 2022, and the 2-Test series in Bangladesh last year.The burden of captaincy is another telling factor as Rohit, one of the finest batters India has produced in the modern era, looks to play that much more for the senior national team. Unlike Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma was handed over the captaincy across all formats in the backend of his career and the pressure to deliver was that much more because of it.However, in the long run, India might have to groom a youngster who can propel the Test team like Virat Kohli did after taking over as captain as early as 2014.
