Reports: Rohit Sharma to opt out of England series amid poor red-ball form

Star cricketer Rohit Sharma might opt out of the England series, which is set to happen in June 2025. The latest report suggests that Rohit, the mainstay skipper, is choosing not to play the series due to his poor form in red-ball cricket. However, Virat Kohli is set to travel with the team for the series. Both the stalwarts were a part of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024, which didn't go well for them.

While Kohli scored an impressive century in the first Test match against Australia, Rohit scored only 31 runs at an average of 6.20 in three games he played in the series. Following the fourth Test match, the captain opted out of the Sydney Test, handing over the captaincy to Jasprit Bumrah. He is likely to do the same for the entirety of the tour of England.

However, the report by India Today says that there are no speculations related to the 37-year-old's retirement, as he clarified it himself during the fifth Test of the last series India played. Virat Kohli, on the other hand, recently said at an RCB event that he 'may not have one more Australia series in him.' This means that the upcoming England series can also be Kohli's last red-ball assignment in the UK.

India will travel to England after the ongoing IPL season for a five-match Test series. The tour will be around 45 days, and the first game is scheduled at Headingley from June 20. As the IPL will end on May 25, the players will get enough days to rest and shift to the long format after playing T20 cricket for two months.

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Before the senior team visits England, the frontline players will travel to play warm-up games against England A before the commencement of the series. BCCI will select the squad after the IPL, and names like Karun Nair are expected to feature for the squad. There are a lot of players who might get a chance to travel to the European country to play the warm-up games. As always, there will be a high chance of selecting certain players from the warm-up games.