Sydney, Jan 2 (FN Bureau) Ravi Shastri says he would not be shocked if India captain Rohit Sharma retires from Test cricket, but if he is selected for a swansong match he should play with as little baggage as possible as the tourists fight to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and keep their World Test Championship 2025 final hopes alive here.Joining Sanjana Ganesan in the latest edition of The ICC Review – a short time before India head coach Gautam Gambhir refused to confirm Sharma’s place in the XI – a frank Shastri said theskipper should play free from inhibitions that have stifled his game during his lean run of form.“If I was anywhere near Rohit Sharma, I’ll tell him, ‘Just go and smash it. Just go out there and havea blast’,” Shastri said on The ICC Review.“Just as it is when you’re trying to play the way you are at the moment, it’s not looking great. Go out there and take the attack to the opposition and then let’s see what happens,” he said.Retirement speculation around Sharma has only grown since Gambhir’s pre-match press conference on Thursday, with Sharma making 31 runs at an average of 6.2 in his five knocks this series.The regular skipper was not a member of the side that won the first Test match of the series in Perth, and Shastri admitted the end of Sharma’s career could come quickly.“He’ll take a call on his career but I won’t be shocked at all (if Sharma retires) because he’s not getting younger,” said Shastri.“There are other young players in the wings, there’s Shubman Gill, a player of his quality averaging over 40 in the year 2024 and not playing,” he said.“It tricks your brain as to what is he doing sitting on the bench and warming it.
So I won’t be surprised but it’s his call,” Shastri said.“At the end of the day, if India had qualified for the World Test Championship (Final) or if they still qualify for the World Test Championship Final, then it’s another thing altogether,” he said.“Otherwise, I think it might just be the opportune time – but (if Sharma plays) he should go out with a blaze of glory,” Shastri said.Known for his barnstorming nature with the bat irrespective of the format, Sharma bowed out of the T20I format a winner, claiming World Cup silverware in the West Indies in 2024 as captain, making two half-centuries in his last three innings in the campaign. He remains poised for a tilt at the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, though his faults against the red-ball have been under the microscopegiven the lean run in recent months.“I think from the outside when I see it, I think he’s a little late on the ball,” Shastri noted.“His feet aren’t moving as well as they normally do. Even at his prime, his footwork was minimal,but there was more. He was more towards the ball. At the moment, I think he’s caught on thecrease,” he said.“It is much like Usman Khawaja in the Australian team, where you’re neither forward nor back. AndI think when Rohit is moving more towards the ball and the intent is there to take on the opposition, that’s when the right signals go from the brain to the feet to do what they have to do,” Shastri said.“I want him to just get out there, smash it, try and win this Test match. You might have lost a Test.You have not lost the series as yet. Try and win this Test match to keep that Border-GavaskarTrophy,” he said.“It’s going out there and not playing his natural game (that’s affecting him),” Shastri said.The fifth and final Border-Gavaskar Test begins on Friday, with Australia holding a 2-1 lead.India must win the Sydney Test match to keep their slim World Test Championship Final hopes alive, and would also need Australia to not win either of their two Test matches in Sri Lanka to lock in their spot for Lord’s in June.