Gautam Gambhir in splits after Rishabh Pant's unexpected mention of Rohit Sharma – WATCH

Gautam Gambhir, Rishabh Pant, and Rohit Sharma (AFP/File Photo)

It was expected that Rohit Sharma would retire from Test cricket after repeated failures in Australia as a batter and captain. In fact, there was a school of thought that indicated Rohit might be the next to retire when Ravichandran Ashwin did at the conclusion of the Melbourne Test. But a few months later, Rohit expressed his enthusiasm for the forthcoming England tour and laid out a precise strategy for success in an interview with Michael Clarke. This gave rise to the notion that the captain still had the motivation to play Test cricket.

But when Rohit casually announced his retirement from Test cricket on May 7, the dreams were dashed. One may never know what happened or how, until Rohit himself reveals the reason behind the sudden announcement.

Two months have gone by, and the Indian Test squad is under a period of transition with Shubman Gill as their new skipper. However, Rohit's influence on this team is still being felt. When a reporter inquired about Rohit's whereabouts, Rishabh Pant responded, "Woh garden mein hain," as he and the rest of the Indian squad were departing for England.

Pant was even asked on The Kapil Sharma Show, 'who is that one Jethani in the team that calls all the shots. Someone who orders everyone around, even if they are just taking advantage of their seniority,’ the response was, "Rohit bhai is like that. Rohit bhai comes on strong". All in jest.

Among the guests were Gautam Gambhir, the head coach of India, Pant, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Abhishek Sharma, all of whom started laughing. And Gambhir added, “Ab toh retire ho gaya. Yeah, take his name now that he has retired."

Look how happily this guy is saying "ab toh retire hogya" , and you want me to believe he isn't behind it pic.twitter.com/jO5JlDZKdO

— Dev 🇮🇳 (@time__square) July 5, 2025

Rohit has been on The Kapil Sharma Show twice: once following India's 2023 World Cup defeat and again following their 2024 T20 World Cup victory. The former India Test captain is currently on vacation with his family in Italy, sharing photos with his wife Ritika, daughter Samiera, and son Ahaan.

Originally scheduled to return to cricket in August for an ODI tour of Bangladesh, but as the series stands cancelled, Rohit will now play in October unless the BCCI schedules another limited-overs series during that time frame.