After India’s unexpected 0-3 Test series loss at home against New Zealand, Rohit Sharma said, "We are allowed one such performance in 12 years,” and some of us seemed to have accepted his reasoning given India’s success in red-ball cricket in the last few years. But is there anyone who can dare defend the ‘five-time IPL and T20 World Cup winning’ captain after India was rescued by rain in the third Test against Australia in Gabba?
Since taking the reins from Virat Kohli, Rohit has enjoyed considerable success in white-ball cricket, which was highlighted by the team winning the 2024 T20 World Cup, and the veteran duo retiring from the shortest format. But has Rohit done enough in Tests or half of what he has in white-ball cricket and should he be allowed to continue?
With a 0-3 home series loss against Kane Williamson-less Kiwis and now spectacularly throwing a lead in the all-important Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rohit is facing some real heat for the first time in his career. Jasprit Bumrah showed he is ready to take over the reins from Rohit with an impressive leadership display in Perth.
Fans are already demanding or some would say hoping for the BCCI’s intervention to save the Indian team’s blushes in BGT. But before leaving it to the fans, let’s analyse Rohit’s captaincy record, and his batting performance since taking the leadership role in Test cricket.
Age is against the hitman with just one Test fifty in the 2024-25 season
Rohit was already over 34 when he succeeded Kohli as India’s Test captain in 2022 and now, in the twilight of his career, he is finding it difficult to keep up with the demands of red-ball cricket. He is not getting any younger and his performances are unlikely to get better with age.
In the 2024-25 season, Rohit has already played six Test matches, and his stats do not favour him. He scored just 142 runs with the help of one fifty, which came in a losing cause against New Zealand in the Bengaluru Test. He failed against Bangladesh at home and has shown no signs of improvement with just 19 runs in three innings against Australia in the ongoing BGT. So, let’s just agree to the fact that he is not going to get better with runs.
Has Test captaincy had any positive impact on his batting performance?
Virat Kohli always led the Test team by example and with consistent performances with the bat in hand. Jasprit Bumrah also showed that he could do the same in the first Test against Australia in Perth, but has it been the same case with Rohit’s performance as a Test captain? A big no.
Rohit has already led India in 23 Test matches and the team enjoyed almost a dream run in the 2021-23 cycle with an appearance in the finale. But it was always a team effort and there are very few instances where he made the headlines with his batting performance.
As a Test captain, he has scored 1232 runs at an average of 32.42 with four centuries, not-so-great numbers for a leader of a dominant team like India. Compared to Rohit, the other Test captains like Ben Stokes, Pat Cummins and even Temba Bavuma are leading their teams with individual brilliance. Rohit also had his moments but when did we last witness them?
Rohit’s captaincy record and where does he stand compared to other India captains?
Okay, now let’s take a look at his captaincy record. No one even talked about it till the recent shocker against New Zealand where India suffered their first home Test series defeat since 2012. And now India won handsomely in Perth under Bumrah’s captaincy but Rohit came in the next game and we suffered a 10-wicket loss in Adelaide. It triggered cricket enthusiasts to dig into Rohit’s captaincy record in Tests.
In 22 Test matches under Rohit’s leadership, India have won on just 12 occasions. But the surprising stat is India’s home record under the current Test captain. It’s hardly been three years and India have lost five Test matches under Rohit’s captaincy so far.
It’s an alarming stat as only one Indian captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi has lost more Test matches and that too before 1975, when India were nowhere near the top. Even MS Dhoni, who was never considered among the great Test captains, lost just three of his 30 Test matches as a leader at home.
So, you just can’t sweep it under the carpet after India’s recent 0-3 Test series loss against New Zealand with a cheeky reply in a press conference.
Rohit vs other Test captains in 2024
With the World Test Championship 2023-25 in its closing stages, all nine teams have played a good amount of Test cricket lately. India still remain alive in the race for the final spot but now they are clearly not favourites as they were three months ago. Other teams and their captains have stepped up to shake India’s dominance at the top of the WTC points table.
As mentioned above, Cummins and Stokes have been superb with their performances as captains and players, and have clearly outperformed Rohit in 2024.
Rohit has scored just 597 runs in 24 Test innings in 2024 and his batting average is way below 30 leading into the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. Only three other team’s Test captains ( frontline batters) have a lower batting average than Rohit. No disrespect intended, but even Pakistan captain Shan Masood and Sri Lanka’s Dhananjaya de Silva have better numbers than Rohit in 2024.
But after seeing a sad ending to Virat Kohli’s captaincy in early 2022, should Rohit avoid the media trial and step away from the leadership role himself? Given his stature in the team and his contribution to Indian cricket, he should be given a chance to mirror himself and make the right decision for the team. But will he do it? Or are we closing in on another unsavoury captaincy change in Indian cricket?
