Rohit Sharma's ‘career coming to an end’, Mark Waugh certain India captain approaching retirement

India captain Rohit Sharma is going through a lean patch and runs have been hard to come by for the 37-year-old. The right-hander returned to his opening slot in the first innings of the Melbourne Test against Australia. However, he failed to leave any impact, as he scored just three runs. Rohit's return to the top meant that KL Rahul was pushed to No.3.

Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri reckons that Rahul belongs in the top order and should be persisted as an opener. When Shastri made his remark, former Australia batter Mark Waugh opined that if Rohit is unable to score runs in the remaining innings, then the Indian captain's Test career might come to an end.

Rohit has been struggling for runs lately, scoring just a little above 150 runs in his last 14 Test innings. The Indian captain missed the Perth Test against Australia, and it was then that Rahul was chosen to open, and he did not disappoint.

Rohit Sharma opted to bat at No.6 when he came back into the side for the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests, however, he came out to open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in Melbourne.

"I think he (KL Rahul) should be in the top order, in the top three. I think that's where he belongs," said Ravi Shastri while commenting for Fox Sports.

"Well, I think he will be now, I think. Unless Rohit Sharma can do something in the last three innings on this tour, I think his career could well be coming to an end. In the balance, certainly," said Mark Waugh as he responded to Ravi Shastri.

Rohit's lean patch in Tests

Rohit Sharma has been struggling for runs ever since the start of the home series against Bangladesh. The right-hander failed to find form in the five Tests he played against Bangladesh and New Zealand.

The right-handed batter registered just one fifty against New Zealand, and it came in the second innings of the Bengaluru Test.

Rohit Sharma batted at No.6 in the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests against Australia. However, failure in these Tests might have led to Rohit deciding to go back to the top, where he has had the most success in Tests.

While speaking about Rohit's dismissal in the first innings of the Melbourne Test, Sunil Gavaskar told Star Sports, "That's a shot that he normally plays. The half-pull off the front foot. I think he probably got in two minds whether to go for the proper pull shot or not and then ended up just trying to tap it like catching practice. But that's what happens when you have a gap, when you're 36, 37-years-old and you have a long gap between playing cricket."

"That is the reason why you're seeing that there is probably not the same sort of footwork as you would expect, because your body is such as you get older. It reacts just a little bit slower. You know, the mind is there. Everything the mind tells you, but the body just doesn't do that. So, if you're being continuous at the age of 37, regularly, no problem. Because you know your bat-speed, everything. The moment you have a break, you must be very, very careful, very, very mindful," he added.