Rohit Sharma has used England’s Ashes struggles to make a simple point, playing cricket in Australia is the hardest test for any team.
Speaking at an event in Gurugram, Rohit said Australian conditions push even strong sides to the edge. He pointed straight at England’s current tour as proof of how unforgiving it can get.
“Australia mein khelna sabse difficult hai, aap England ko puch he sakte ho,” Rohit said, drawing laughs and nods from the crowd.
England’s campaign has fallen apart quickly in the ongoing Ashes. They lost the first three Tests in Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide, all before the series reached its halfway mark.
Both Perth and Brisbane ended inside three days, with Australia winning by eight wickets. The third Test in Adelaide was closer but England still lost by 82 runs.
Those defeats mean England no longer have a chance to regain the Ashes in Australia, underlining exactly what Rohit was talking about.
Rohit’s own numbers in Australia show how different formats tell different stories. In white-ball cricket, he has been outstanding and very consistent.
He is the only Indian batter to score over 1,000 ODI runs against Australia in their home conditions. He also hit a century in his most recent ODI there on October 25, 2025.
But Test cricket in Australia has been a very different challenge for him. Across 10 Tests, Rohit has scored 439 runs in 19 innings, with three fifties and one duck.
On India’s 2024-25 tour of Australia, he managed just 31 runs in five innings, a reminder of how little room there is for error in red-ball cricket there.
Australia, meanwhile, continue to look in control. They have already secured the Ashes and now head to the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26 to 30.
They may be without Nathan Lyon due to injury, and Pat Cummins could be rested, but their dominance so far has barely been dented.
Rohit’s comment was part joke, part truth. England’s struggles and his own mixed record both point to the same thing, touring Australia is a test that never gets easy.