Rohit Sharma’s future in One-Day Internationals has come under intense scrutiny, with multiple reports suggesting that Sunday’s third ODI against England at Lord’s could mark the end of the veteran opener’s international career.
According to reports citing sources within the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the national selection committee has decided against including the 39-year-old in its long-term plans leading up to the 2027 ODI World Cup, with the focus now shifting towards younger players, particularly Yashasvi Jaiswal.
The selectors are understood to believe that India has a limited number of ODI matches before the next World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia and wants emerging players to gain extended exposure in the format. Jaiswal, who impressed with two centuries in three innings recently, is reportedly viewed as a key part of that transition.
Reports have further claimed that Rohit has been informed that the team management and selectors are looking beyond him after the England series, although the final decision regarding retirement has been left to the former India captain.
Rohit’s recent form in ODI cricket has added to the speculation surrounding his future. The Mumbai batter has struggled for consistency in recent months and managed scores of just 11 and 26 in the first two matches of the ongoing three-match series against England. Across his last eight ODI innings, he has scored 241 runs at an average of 30.1 with only one half-century to his name.
Despite the growing retirement talk, India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has strongly denied suggestions that Rohit is under pressure from the team management or selectors.
“I don’t think a player of Rohit’s calibre will come under any kind of pressure. He’s too good a player to feel that,” Kotak said after the second ODI in Cardiff, while dismissing suggestions that the veteran opener was battling a crisis of confidence.
Team management officials have also publicly backed the veteran opener, maintaining that Rohit remains an important member of the squad despite recent struggles with the bat.
Rohit had already retired from Test cricket and T20 Internationals earlier, leaving ODIs as the only format he currently plays for India. Over a distinguished ODI career spanning nearly two decades, he has established himself as one of the format’s greatest batters, becoming the only player in history to score three double centuries in ODIs, including the world-record 264 against Sri Lanka in 2014.
If the speculation proves accurate, the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground could provide the setting for the final chapter of one of Indian cricket’s most remarkable white-ball careers. However, as of now, neither Rohit Sharma nor the BCCI has made any official announcement regarding his retirement from international cricket.
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