Australian cricket legend Steve Waugh has advised Indian captain Rohit Sharma to reflect on his future in cricket, particularly regarding his leadership role ahead of India’s upcoming Test series against England in June. Waugh emphasised that Rohit, who turns 38 this month, must make his own decision about continuing as captain while also expressing concerns about protecting Test cricket amid the growing popularity of T20 leagues.
Waugh believes the decision about leading India must come from Rohit himself, especially considering his recent performance struggles.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
“It is totally up to him. He is the only one who can solve that problem. He has got to look himself in the mirror and say, do I still want to be captain or play for India? Am I committed?” Waugh, a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy, said.
“Am I putting enough time and effort into it? It is a privilege and an honour to play for your country. You can’t be complacent or relax,” he added.
Rohit’s recent form has been concerning, with poor performances in Test series against Bangladesh, New Zealand, and Australia. He notably opted out of the Sydney Test due to poor form during India’s 1-3 series loss earlier this year in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Waugh also addressed the future of Test cricket, stressing on its importance despite T20’s rising popularity.
“There is stress on Test cricket, whether it will survive because we need it as a sport. T20 cricket is amazing, great for players and spectators and great for sponsors but I still think Test cricket is the very essence of cricket. The players I believe still want to play Tests to see how good they can actually be. It’s the ultimate contest. Making sure that it survives and thrives and is healthy is really important,” Waugh explained.
Poll
Should Rohit Sharma continue as captain of the Indian cricket team?
Regarding criticism about South Africa’s World Test Championship qualification despite playing fewer matches, Waugh defended the current system.
“There’s always complaints. In Champions Trophy, India played a neutral ground in Dubai and people complained about that. You have to do what you can to make things happen. It’s not a perfect situation. Some countries play a lot of Test matches, some don’t play many. South Africa probably didn’t play as many as other countries. They were pretty successful in what they did. I believe the two best Test playing countries are lining up in the final,” he stated.
Waugh opposed the proposed two-tier system for Test cricket.
“I don’t like two tier, It weakens whoever’s in the second tier not playing vs strong sides, they’re not going to be able to improve and get better. The top sides will keep getting better and stronger and it’ll just separate world cricket into teams that are top level and other teams that are okay and we want to develop the other teams right now,” he remarked.
“Test cricket is pretty strong actually, it’s probably seven or eight sides capable of beating each other and that hasn’t been the case for few years so I actually think Test cricket is going okay right now,” Waugh said.
On the suggestion of bonus points for away wins in the 2025-27 WTC cycle, Waugh disagreed.
“That’s all subjective. How do you say who’s a stronger team? I think the current system is pretty good. At end of the day, you’ve got to be consistent, you’ve got to win both away and at home,” he commented.
Get the latest IPL 2025 updates on Times of India, including match schedules, team squads, points table and IPL live score for CSK, MI, RCB, KKR, SRH, LSG, DC, GT, PBKS, and RR. Don’t miss the list of players in the race for IPL Orange Cap and IPL Purple cap.
