Sanjay Manjrekar has made the bold claim that Rohit Sharma’s days as an opener in Test cricket was over after the 38-year-old announced his retirement from the longest format of the game. Rohit announced his retirement from Test cricket via an Instagram story on May 7 and said he will continue to represent India in ODIs.

Rohit’s future in Tests was in doubt ahead of the England tour after a poor outing in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where he mostly batted at the No.6 spot. Taking to X, Manjrekar pointed out that Rohit scored just 164 runs in his last 15 innings, out of which 10 were at home against Bangladesh and New Zealand.

The former cricketer said that with Rohit’s current fitness levels, his days as an opener were numbered.

“164 in his last 15 innings. Out of which 10 were at home v Bangladesh & NZ. Average 10.9. With his current fitness levelsRohit Sharma’s days as Test opener were over. So”

Rohit’s numbers as an opener

After starting his career in the middle-order, Rohit moved into the opener’s spot and made it his own. The 38-year-old scored 2697 runs from 68 innings and scored 9 hundreds and 8 fifties as an opener. In the two matches against Bangladesh last year, Rohit managed just 42 runs at an average of 10.5. In the three Tests against New Zealand, Rohit scored 91 runs from 6 innings at an average of 15.16.

Rohit’s poor form was exposed during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy when he managed to score just 36 runs from innings and stepped down from the side for the final match of the series. Rohit had expressed his interest in being a part of the England tour, but reports suggested that BCCI were looking at other options, which may have prompted his retirement.