Rohit Sharma © Gallo Images

India must start planning for Rohit Sharma’s successor if the team does not perform well in their five-Test series in Australia as the captain may well bow out of the longest format, says former skipper Krishnamahari Srikkanth.

Rohit retired from Twenty20 internationals after winning India’s second World Cup trophy in June, but the 37-year-old has struggled to return to form and admitted his leadership errors during the recent home test 3-0 against New Zealand.

India travel to Australia and need to win four of their five Tests to reach a third consecutive World Test Championship final next year and could be without Rohit for the opener in Perth from November 22 for personal reasons.

“You need to start thinking about the future. If Rohit Sharma doesn’t do well, I think he will retire from Test cricket himself, as far as you know,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.

“He will only play ODIs. He has already left T20I cricket. We have to keep in mind that he is also getting older.”

Rohit has scored 4,270 runs in Test cricket at an average of 42.27, but his recent form has come under scrutiny.

He made just one half-century in his last 10 innings, with six single-digit scores, and was guilty of playing careless shots at important times against the Black Caps.

Srikkanth, also a former chief selector, said the skipper was right to accept his shortcomings during a press conference.

“Hats off to Rohit for coming to terms with the fact that he played poorly throughout the series and captained poorly. That’s a good thing,” Srikkanth added.

“It’s the first gesture of a player to find the rhythm. Accepting your fault is very important. It’s a very important quality of a human being.

“He’s accepted it openly. That means he’s on the road to recovery, that’s my opinion.”