Indian ODI captain Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Test cricket recently. But many are unaware of the fact that despite Rohit being a natural opener in white-ball cricket, he didn’t get to open in Test matches until 2019. For six years after making his debut in 2013, Rohit played as a middle-order batter in the longest format of the game.

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During that time, he showed glimpses of the skillset required in Test cricket but couldn’t hold on to a permanent spot in the playing eleven. He scored 1,585 runs playing as a middle-order batter in 20 matches, with three centuries and 10 fifties. But something always seemed to be missing as he was seen as a white ball star.

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Rohit - The opener in Test cricket

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The scenario changed in 2019 when one phone call from the team management gave Rohit a new role as a Test opener. It was a bold move, but it turned out to be a game-changer. Hitman grabbed the opportunity with both hands as he scored centuries in both innings in Visakhapatnam in his first outing as an opener and followed it up with a double hundred in the same series against South Africa. Adding to it, he scored 2,716 runs as an opener, including nine hundreds, two fifties, and even a double century. He looked more confident, solid, and in control while facing the new ball.

The real test of Rohit as an opener was when India toured England for a five-match test series in 2021-22. He rose to the occasion and scored 127 at the Oval and 83 at the Lord's. He was the third-highest run getter in that series, scoring 368 runs in eight innings with an average of over 50.

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Interestingly, Rohit played 67 Tests in total for India. The first 20 were as a middle-order batter, and the rest 47 matches saw him bat at the top of the order, where he truly belonged. Also, all 12 of Rohit’s Test hundreds came in matches that India won, a record no other batter has achieved.

He also became India’s leading run-scorer across the first three cycles of the World Test Championship. In 2022, he was named Test captain and led the team to the 2023 WTC Final against Australia. But towards the end, both his form with the bat and as a leader dipped as India lost 0-3 to New Zealand at home in 2024 and 1-3 in Australia.

Despite the setback, Rohit Sharma’s Test story is one of patience, belief, and adapting to the conditions. That one call in 2019 didn’t just change his role; it gave him a second life in Test cricket, and he truly made it count.