Legendary Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist predicted Rohit Sharma’s potential retirement from international cricket following the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in March. Rohit Sharma’s leadership has come under fire after India’s 1-3 Test series loss to Australia. He was also the big flop with the bat in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 against Australia.
Amidst the buzz surrounding Rohit Sharma’s future following the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 debacle, Adam Gilchrist also predicted that India might see a change in the captaincy in Test cricket with either Jasprit Bumrah or Virat Kohli stepping in as captain during their next assignment against England in June 2025.
Adam Gilchrist predicts Rohit Sharma’s retirement after ICC Champions Trophy 2025
Following the disastrous Australia tour, many have been questioning whether the 37-year-old will even make the squad for India’s next Test series in England, which kickstarts the new World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle. Well, Gilchrist expressed doubts about Rohit Sharma’s future in the Tests.
The former Australian wicketkeeper-batter hinted that the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 could be his swansong. Gilchrist doesn’t think Rohit will stretch his Test career till the England tour, but he will get a clearer picture of his future after self-assessment during this break.
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Adam Gilchrist said on Club Prairie Fire: “I don’t see Rohit Sharma going to England. I just felt that he says he will assess it when he gets home. I mean, the first thing he will be met with when he gets home is a two-month-old baby that he has to change the nappies on. Now that might incentivize 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.”
Virat Kohli or Jasprit Bumrah? Adam Gilchrist weighs in on India’s captaincy conundrum
The cricket pundit also has doubts that Jasprit Bumrah will be India’s full-time Test captain, as he predicted a possible return of Virat Kohli to the captaincy, at least for the upcoming England tour.
He added, “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 Kohli. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wouldn’t mind doing it.”
Meanwhile, former England captain Michael Vaughan said that Jasprit Bumrah should be given India’s captaincy while highlighting the team’s performance under the pacer’s leadership. He also noted that if Jasprit Bumrah was not injured, India would have won the Sydney Test and saved the BGT 2024-25 against Australia.
Michael Vaughan backs Jasprit Bumrah for India’s Test captaincy
Michael Vaughan said on the same podcast: “I think you’re right. I would give the captaincy to Jasprit Bumrah, and the reason is the two performances that India had at their finest here in Australia were Perth and the SCG. And if he had not been injured, I honestly think they would have won that game.”
Even Vaughan has backed Shubman Gill as a potential vice-captain for the much-awaited Test series. But the Englishman suggested Gill improve his numbers first in the longest format of the game. He signed off by saying, “I’d have someone like Shubman Gill as the vice-captain, but averaging over 45, which I think he’s got the game to do.”