 "Rohit Sharma would be dropped from Team India if he fails the Bronco test, claims a former cricketer. Image: PTI")
Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary has accused the aerobic running drill, the Bronco test , is being added to the Indian cricket team’s preparation process as a method to force Rohit Sharma out of the ODI team. The 38-year-old Rohit Sharma has retired from T20Is and Tests, but continues to be the captain in the ODI team.
While he hasn’t played any international cricket since winning the Champions Trophy 2025 in March 2025, major reports have stated that the upcoming ODI tour of Australia in October could prove to be his last . Reportedly, BCCI will be taking a big call on India’s ODI future after the Asia Cup and inform Rohit about it.
BCCI, Gambhir trying to make ROhit leave ODIs?
Whether Rohit will be forced out of the team, choose to retire on his own, or continue playing for India is impossible to predict at the moment. However, former batter Manoj Tiwary believes the BCCI introduced the Bronco Test for Team India players to potentially sideline Rohit from the 50-over format.
The Bronco test has been introduced by head coach Gautam Gambhir and strength and conditioning coach Adrian le Roux to measure the aerobic endurance of Indian players and help them improve their cardiovascular capacities, a report in the Indian Express said.
“I think it will be very difficult to keep out Virat Kohli from the plans for 2027 World Cup. But I have a doubt that they are going to look at Rohit Sharma into the scheme of things because… See, I’m a very keen observer what things are going on in Indian cricket. And I believe this Bronco Test, which was introduced a few days back, I think it is for the players like Rohit Sharma and someone who I believe they don’t want them to be part of the team in future. And that’s why it has been introduced,” Tiwary told CricTracker.
Tiwary went on to add that Rohit will be dropped if he doesn’t perform well in the Bronco test.
“And you know, Bronco Test will be one of the toughest fitness test parameters which has been introduced by the Indian cricket. But the only question is, why now? Why not when your new head coach got the assignment from the very first series? Whose idea is it? Who introduced this? Who enforced this Bronco Test a few days back? So it is a question for which I don’t have an answer, but the observation says that it is going to be difficult for Rohit Sharma if he doesn’t work really hard on his fitness. And I think he will be stopped at the Bronco Test.”
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“I think it has been brought in, obviously, to set the fitness parameter at the highest level, but also I believe it has been introduced to keep a few players out, as like what happened when our Indian great legends like Gambhir, Sehwag, and Yuvraj, and others were doing really well. And after we became champions in 2011, the yo-yo test came into the forefront. So a lot of things that go behind the same. And this is my observation. Let’s see what happens. The future will definitely give me answers.”
Tiwary picks Iyer as Rohit’s successor and not Gill
Speculating on who can replace Rohit as India’s next ODI captain, Tiwary put forward Shreyas Iyer’s name as the middle-order batter tends to do well when made the skipper.
“After Rohit Sharma, obviously, I would say Shreyas Iyer, because the way he has led, wherever he has led in the franchise cricket, I have not seen him in the first-class cricket, but he has got a trophy as well for Mumbai in domestic as well,” he said.
“But when I was doing commentary, where I have observed the evaluation of Shreyas Iyer as the captain, and when you see he’s one of the captain who leads from the front, he scores a lot of runs, and he leads, and he makes great decisions on feed, which is a must for a good captain, and he does that with good success, which we have seen in KKR tenure.”