Rohit calls time on his Test career, Gill frontrunner in captaincy race

The India skipper announced on his Instagram handle on Wednesday that he will keep playing ODIs

- Rasesh Mandani

MUMBAI: "Hello everyone, I would just like to share that I am retiring from Test cricket." It was through these words on his 43.6 million-strong Instagram handle on Wednesday evening that Rohit Sharma called time on his 67-match Test career.

"It's been an absolute honour to represent my country in whites. Thank you for all the love and support over the years. I will continue to represent India in the ODI format," Rohit said in his brief statement.

Without the fanfare of a farewell match, a Test career which should have been so much more, has ended.

So prodigiously talented was Rohit that at 19 in 2006, he was picked for India A even before he made his debut for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. A year later, he made his India debut in ODI cricket, a format he eventually dominated like few others in the game.

His final outing as India Test captain was in the Boxing Day Test of Melbourne last year, where he could manage only 3 and 9. It was a torrid tour for him, one in which he got only 31 runs in 3 Tests.

His poor form in Australia was an extension of a lean run in the home series against New Zealand. He was getting out to odd dismissals... his feet not always in sync with his hands; his timing off. So much so that Rohit owned up and dropped out of the final Test at Sydney.