Rohit Sharma revealed that his father, Gurunath Sharma, was disappointed with his decision to retire from Tests. Speaking for the first time publicly about the longest format of the game after his retirement, the 38-year-old stated that his father has been a long-time admirer of the toughest format and doesn’t like “new-age” cricket.
Rohit, who was most recently seen in the Mumbai Indians colours in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, retired from Tests in May 2025, just days before the squad announcement for the England tour.
The right-hander was in dismal form in the series against New Zealand and Australia, unable to buy a run. The situation got so bad Down Under that he even had to stand out from the last Test in Sydney. However, at that time, Rohit stated that he was “going nowhere.”
“My father worked in a transport company. Like I said, what my mom did, my father was very much involved in sacrificing things so that we could have our life. But my father always, since day one, has been a fan of Test cricket. He doesn’t like this new-age cricket. I still remember that day I scored 264 in the ODI. He was like, okay, well played. Well done. There was no excitement from him. It’s important to go out there and all that,” Rohit said at the launch of Cheteshwar Pujara’s wife Puja Pujara’s book ‘The Diary of a Cricketer’s Wife’ in Mumbai.
“But even if I used to get good 30s or 40s or 50s or 60s, in Test cricket used to talk to me about it in detail. So that’s the kind of love he had for the game. And he’s obviously seen you go up the ranks,” he added.
‘My father appreciates red-ball cricket’
Rohit Sharma called time on his Test career, having played 67 matches, scoring 4301 runs at an average of 40.57. The Indian ODI captain had a stop-start theme going on for the bulk of his Test career, however, the situation changed drastically when the Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli management asked him to open the batting in 2019.
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Ever since then, Rohit became a regular in the playing XI, and eventually, he replaced Virat Kohli as the captain in 2022 when the latter decided to step down.
“You play in school cricket. Then you play U19, the Ranji Trophy, the Duleep Trophy, the Irani Trophy, and India A. And I’ve done all of that. So he has seen my journey through that. And through this, I’ve made it to the Indian team,” said Rohit.
“My father has seen me playing a lot of cricket with red ball, obviously. So he appreciates red ball cricket a lot. And then, obviously, he was a little disappointed when I announced my retirement. But was happy as well at the same time. But, yeah, that’s my father. And he has obviously played a huge role in wherever I am today. Without their help, it never would have been possible,” he added.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma confirmed his Test retirement via an Instagram Story. “Hello everyone, I would just like to share that I am retiring from Test cricket. It’s been an absolute honour to represent my country in whites. It’s been an absolute honour to represent my country in whites. Thank you for all the love and support for all these years. I will continue to represent India in ODIs,” Rohit had stated.
In his Test career, Rohit smashed 12 centuries and 18 fifties. He even led India to a World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2023. However, the side lost the final against Australia.
