Last Updated:January 07, 2025, 07:05 IST

Rohit has been horribly out of form in Test cricket for quite some time now. In the recently concluded Test series against Australia, he was only able to score 31 runs in five innings.

Rohit Sharma could only manage to score 31 runs in three Tests against Australia. (Picture Credit: AFP)

India’s Test and ODI captain, Rohit Sharma, was horribly out of form in the recently concluded five-match Test series against Australia. In the 2024-25 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which India lost with a scoreline of 1-3, Rohit played three matches but was only able to score 31 runs in five innings. His poor form with the bat invited a lot of criticism for him, and after he opted out of the fifth Test against the Baggy Greens at Sydney Cricket Ground, many former greats of the game felt that Rohit’s time in Test cricket was over.

But the 37-year-old right-handed batter, who is India’s leading run scorer in the World Test Championship, dismissed the news of his retirement and said he still wants to play and win Test matches for India.

Former Indian all-rounder Sanjay Bangar, who has worked with Rohit for a long time during his stint as India’s batting coach, feels that since Rohit is not retiring, he must earn his place in the Test side by scoring runs in domestic cricket.

“When you are 37 years old…and you see that you are not able to perform at the same level like before and you see young players performing better…he must have weighed these factors in his mind when he took that decision (to step aside from the fifth Test in Australia),” said Bangar on Star Sports.

“He has to find out whether he is still hungry for Test cricket, and if he is, then it should show in his actions, like playing domestic cricket, which has been talked about a lot.”

“Even at this stage, he (Rohit) has expressed interest in playing for India,” said Bangar. “He has come forward and said, ‘I am not going anywhere; I still want to play.’ So, to follow that up, I am sure he will score big in domestic cricket; then nobody can stop him, but he has to show that form,” he added.

Rohit’s childhood coach, Dinesh Lad, while speaking to news agency IANS, on Monday also suggested that Rohit should play domestic cricket.

Bangar gave examples of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, who are playing in domestic cricket after getting dropped from Team India, and said Rohit should also follow the same path.

“Cheteshwar Pujara also got dropped, so did Ajinkya Rahane, and their stature is in no way less or more than Rohit Sharma’s. They are on the same pedestal,” Bangar said.

“Rahane and Pujara are still breaking a sweat (in domestic cricket). Rohit has to show that kind of hunger,” he added.