India’s Test and ODI captain until Wednesday, Rohit Sharma, dropped a bomb on fans all across the globe as he decided to quit the longest format. Rohit’s announcement came as a big surprise, as the batter had expressed his intentions of leading the team on the tour of England multiple times.

Just as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had begun drawing the squad selection plan for the England tour, Rohit decided to call it quits. What transpired behind the scenes wasn’t made public, but it has been reported that the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee wasn’t keen on giving the captaincy responsibility to the Hitman.

In a report by CricbuzzRohit had sent an email to the top brass of the BCCI on Wednesday evening, making his stance on red-ball cricket clear.

As Rohit took to social media to announce his decision, chief selector Ajit Agarkar was seen engaged in a long phone call at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) in Mumbai. Whether he was speaking to Rohit or others in the BCCI top management, however, isn’t known.

Tributes started to pour in as Rohit made the decision public, just as the decision continues to raise questions about the need for a sudden call.

Rohit arrived in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season on the back of a worrying form, but did well after a slow start to the campaign.

In 11 matches so far for the Mumbai Indians, he scored 300 runs at an average of 30. While it isn’t a number to be proud of, Rohit has shown significant improvement after a string of poor displays in the first 5 matches.

The 38-year-old’s decision to quit the Test format could have adverse effects on his ODI career too. It is believed that Rohit is keen to continue playing for India till the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Even in his Test retirement post on Instagram, the opening batter made his intentions about the 50-over format clear.

However, fitness and match practice while playing a single format could become a challenge for Rohit to keep up his form.