Rohit Sharma officially called time on his Test career on May 7, 2025, just ahead of India’s much-anticipated five-match home series against England. While tributes poured in from fans and cricketers alike, hailing Rohit’s contributions to Indian cricket, former India batter and coach Pravin Amre offered a more nuanced take.

Amre acknowledged Rohit’s immense natural talent and technical prowess but felt the Mumbaikar could have achieved far more in the red-ball format. Rohit’s Test journey began in 2013 under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, but it wasn’t until 2019, when he was promoted to opener, that his red-ball career truly found momentum.

As an opener, he stitched together some brilliant innings and brought much-needed stability to the Indian top order. Yet Amre believes that, considering Rohit’s innate skillset and cricketing intelligence, the numbers don’t reflect his full potential.

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“He had a fantastic defensive technique and the natural game sense typical of a Mumbai batter. He always had that confidence. Early on, he often got out playing expansive shots and was caught in the deep. Once he figured out his game, he became consistent. But in my opinion, he still didn’t fully realise his potential as a Test batter,” Pravin Amre told TOI.

Rohit retires with 4301 runs from 67 Tests at an average of 40.57, including 12 centuries. However, a string of poor performances in recent matches—just 31 runs in his last three Tests—led to him stepping aside from the playing XI during the Australia series.

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Former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar felt the timing of Rohit’s retirement was premature. “He has a rare gift of reading length early, allowing him to adapt seamlessly. India will miss that experience. He should have played the England series and then taken a call,” Vengsarkar said.