Adam Gilchrist speculates that Rohit Sharma will retire after the end of the Champions Trophy

Gilchrist further expects Virat Kohli to lead the Test team during India’s next assignment in June 2025.

The Indian team captaincy speculations sparked a Virat Kohli vs. Jasprit Bumrah between Adam Gilchrist and Michael Vaughan. Ajit Agarkar, India’s chief selector, is expected to incur a “challenging period” ahead as former Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist speculates that the incumbent captain, Rohit Sharma, will retire after the end of the Champions Trophy in March 2025.

Adam Gilchrist expects one to become India’s next Test captain.

Adam Gilchrist, speaking on Club Prairie Fire, said that he doesn’t see Rohit Sharma on the Indian team for the Test series in England and expects him to end his career after the ICC Champions Trophy, which will begin on February 19. He said, “I don’t see Rohit going to England. I just felt that he says he will assess it when he gets home. I mean, the first thing he will be met with when he gets home is a two-month-old baby that he has to change the nappies on. Now, that might incentivise him to go to England. But I know I don’t; I don’t see him pressing on. I think he’ll probably have a crack at the Champions Trophy, and that might be. That might see him out.”

Gilchrist thinks Indian selectors can go back to Kohli for captaincy.

The former cricketer picked Jasprit Bumrah as a solution to replace Rohit as the next India captain in Test cricket but reckoned it might be challenging for the pacer, given the workload concerns. He said that Indian selectors might go back to Kohli to lead Team India, saying, “I don’t know whether Bumrah should be full-time captain. I reckon that might get a little bit challenging for him. So, who that next captain may be is anyone’s guess, really, whether they go back to Virat. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wouldn’t mind doing it. But yeah, I haven’t stopped to really think who will be captain. It’s a challenging period coming up for India. They’ve got ready-made replacements. I mean, the IPLs have produced a number of talented players that are lined up across every position, 1 to 11 really, that they could draw on. But it doesn’t mean that it’s instant success at the international level. So I think they could be in for a challenging little period.”

Michael Vaughan, on the other hand, said, “I think you’re right. I would give the captain seat to Jasper Bumrah, and the reason is the two performances that India were at their finest here in Australia were Perth and the SCG. And if he had not been injured, I honestly think they would have won that game.”