When I wake up and feel I am not good enough, then I will retire straightaway: Rohit Sharma

India hammered England by a resounding margin of 4-1 in the five-match Test series, as they won the fifth game by a massive margin of an innings and 64 runs at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala, on Saturday, March 9. Notably, India were 0-1 down after the first game as the Ben Stokes-led side scripted a remarkable comeback win after being 190 runs behind in the first innings. 

After the loss in the opening Test, skipper Rohit Sharma revitalized a depleted Indian side without KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja and inspired them to script a 106-run win in the second Test in Visakhapatnam. However, Rohit’s performance in the first two games was well below-par as he registered scores of scores of 24, 39, 14, and 13.

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Reacting to the development, former England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott didn't hold back as he launched a blistering critique of the Indian captain, asserting that he's no longer at his peak due to his age. However, the 36-year-old made a remarkable comeback scoring centuries in Rajkot (131) and Dharamsala (103). Following India’s comprehensive win, Rohit spoke about his retirement plans and revealed that he will happily hang up his boots if he feels he isn’t good enough.

"One day, when I wake up and feel I am not good enough, then I will retire straightaway. But in the last few years, I am playing the best cricket of my life," Rohit said after the game.

Rohit also got praise from head coach Rahul Dravid who lauded him for his key batting performances. 

"Rohit Sharma has been exceptional in this series. In Rajkot, when we were 3 down inside the first hour, we needed someone to get us that hundred. In Ranchi also, he batted amazingly," Dravid said.

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Rohit scored 400 runs in the series

Notably, Rohit finished as the fourth-highest run-scorer of the series with 400 runs to his name from nine innings at an average of 44.44 with two hundreds and a fifty. He scored a magnificent 131 (196), an innings laced with 14 fours and 3 sixes and stepped up when his team found themselves in a dire situation of 33/3 in Rajkot. 

He further scored a match-winning 55 (81) during the fourth innings in Ranchi to help India get off to a great start while chasing a target of 192 on a tricky Day 4 pitch. The 36-year-old capped off the series with yet another century in Dharamsala, silencing his critics once again.