Rohit Sharma Reveals Father's Disappointment Over His Test Retirement, Says 'He Appreciates Red-Ball Cricket'

Rohit Sharma On Thursday spoke about Test cricket for the first time since retirement and revealed an emotional angle involving his father, Gurunath Sharma.

Speaking at the launch of Cheteshwar Pujara’s wife Puja Pujara’s book ‘The Diary of a Cricketer’s Wife’ in Mumbai, Rohit spoke about his father's love for the longest format of the game and how he was left disappointed by the decision of his retirement.

"My Father Was Disappointed, He Loves Test Cricket" – Rohit Sharma

Sharing the personal side of his cricketing journey, the 38-year-old spoke about his father's deep-rooted love for the traditional format.

“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,” Rohit said.

Rohit fondly recalled how his record-breaking 264-run ODI innings didn’t impress his father as much as a gritty 40 or 50 in a Test match.

“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. But even if I used to get good 30s or 40s or 50s or 60s in Test cricket, he used to talk to me about it in detail. So that’s the kind of love he had for the game,” he added.

Rohit also acknowledged the vital role his father played throughout his climb up the cricketing ladder.

“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. My father has seen me playing a lot of cricket with the red ball, obviously. So he appreciates red-ball cricket a lot.”

“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,” Rohit added.

Rohit Sharma's Test career

Rohit, who most recently featured for Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2025 season, announced his retirement from the longest format in May 2025, just ahead of India’s squad selection for the England tour. His decision came after a lean patch in Test cricket, especially during challenging tours of New Zealand and Australia, where he failed to make a notable impact and eventually missed the final Test in Sydney. Despite then claiming he was “going nowhere,” Rohit surprised fans by calling time on his Test career.

Speaking about the Test stats the opener played 67 matches, scoring 4,301 runs at an average of 40.57. His career included 12 centuries and 18 fifties. After a stop-start beginning to his Test journey, his fortunes changed in 2019 when he was promoted to the opening slot under the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri leadership.

He cemented his spot and took over the Test captaincy from Kohli in 2022. One of his career highlights was leading India to the ICC World Test Championship final in 2023, although the team fell short against Australia.