Former England international Moeen Ali took centre stage and talked about Rohit Sharma’s decision to retire from the longest format. He heaped massive praise on Rohit for contributions to Indian cricket.
The Indian team is all set to tour England for a five-game Test series starting from June 20. The series will mark the start of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle 2025-27, and with the series rapidly approaching, the Indian team will be without the services of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
The star duo announced their retirement from the longest format ahead of the England tour, and both players would surely be a big miss for the Indian team. It is worth noting Rohit announced his retirement from Test cricket through an Instagram story, and he left quite the impact on Indian cricket in the longest format.
With his retirement, former England all-rounder Moeen Ali took centre stage and admired Rohit Sharma for his contribution to Test cricket. He branded him one of the most talented batters in world cricket as well.
“Rohit was a more natural player in terms of, like, amazing to watch. Like a proper gift given to him. When I say natural, everything looks a lot smoother. He was a top player. There was a period of time where he was probably the most talented player in the world, naturally. Like probably didn’t do the work in terms of fitness and stuff as Virat but still as effective. Would probably hit the ball further,” Ali said on the Beard Before Wicket podcast.
It is worth noting that Rohit finished his Test career with 4,301 runs to his name in 67 Tests, in the 67 matches he hit 12 centuries and 18 half-centuries. On the other hand, Virat Kohli finished his Test career with a score of 9,230 runs in the 123 Tests that he played.
Both stalwarts of Indian cricket have hung up their boots in the longest format, and it could prove to be a daunting task for Indian team to replace the duo.
