"We won the 50-over World Cup and the time went very bad from 2011 to 2013" - Sanjay Bangar links Rohit Sharma's poor form to 2024 T20 World Cup win

Sanjay Bangar opined that Rohit Sharma's poor recent form could be a drag-on effect of India's 2024 T20 World Cup triumph. He pointed out that the Men in Blue struggled after their 1983 and 2011 ODI World Cup wins as well.

India suffered a 1-3 loss to Australia in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. Rohit aggregated 31 runs at a dismal average of 6.20 in five innings and left himself out of the playing XI for the final Test.

During a discussion on the Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues', Bangar was asked whether Rohit's issues are greater than the ones bothering Virat Kohli.

"This happens when any captain wins the World Cup, whether it is T20 or ODI. I will remind you of the 1983 World Cup, Kapil Dev's team beat the West Indies, and then the West Indies came to India and thrashed them," he replied.

"In 2011, we won the 50-over World Cup and the time went very bad from 2011 to 2013. A slight drag-on effect of that earlier moment probably remains, and such things happen once or twice in decades. So is it a slight drag-on effect of that?" the former India batting coach added.

Rohit has aggregated 164 runs at an average of 10.93 in eight Tests since India's 2024 T20 World Cup win. However, he impressed in the three ODIs in Sri Lanka, scoring 157 runs at an average of 52.33 and a strike rate of 141.44, although India lost the series 0-2.

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"He has to figure out whether he is still as hungry to play Test cricket" - Sanjay Bangar on Rohit Sharma's future

Rohit Sharma has represented India in 67 Tests. [P/C: Getty]

In the same discussion, Sanjay Bangar noted that Rohit Sharma's hunger for Test cricket could dictate his future in the game's longest format.

"A cricketer is a proud person. When he saw he was unable to perform at the level he was performing earlier and a young player coming up was playing well, he would have weighed all these factors in his mind when he took that decision (to leave himself out in Sydney). He has to figure out whether he is still as hungry to play Test cricket, and if he is hungry, the hunger should be seen in his actions," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator urged the Indian captain to follow Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara's examples and play domestic cricket.

"Playing domestic cricket was discussed a lot. Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were also dropped and their stature is neither less nor more than Rohit Sharma. Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara are even today sweating it out on the dusty soil. He will have to show that kind of hunger," Bangar elaborated.

In a recent interview, Rohit disclosed that skipping the Sydney Test did not imply that he was looking to retire from Tests. It remains to be seen if the Mumbaikar plies his trade in the next round of the Ranji Trophy to regain his form.