Rohit Sharma to opt out of Test series against England

KARACHI: India’s longer formats captain Rohit Sharma is likely to rest from the upcoming five-match away Test series against England, Indian media reported on Thursday.

After leading India to the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 glory, Sharma is currently representing former champions Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Following the IPL, India are scheduled to tour England for a five-match Test series from June 20 to August 4 but Sharma’s participation remains uncertain as according to a report, the right-handed batter made the decision to rest due to his lacklustre performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) last year.

During the series, he only managed to score 31 runs in five innings before eventually resting from the fifth Test, giving rise to doubts regarding his future both as the skipper and as a player in the longest format.

Sharma, however, had dismissed the rumours, stating that he had not intentions of stepping away from the format.

"This is not a decision of retirement. I am not moving away from this game. But I took a decision to step away from this game because I was not able to score runs with the bat. There is no guarantee that I will score runs 2 months or 5 months from now,” Rohit Sharma had told the broadcasters.

“I have seen a lot of cricket, every minute, every second and everyday life changes. I believe that things will change, but at the same time, I have to be realistic as well. People sitting in the commentary box, or writing with a laptop in their hands, will not decide how my life goes," he added.