This comes after reports emerged that the series-decider against England could be Rohit Sharma’s swansong, sparking retirement talks on social media among fans and experts alike.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia has revealed that India’s third and final ODI against England at Lord’s won’t be Rohit Sharma’s last for the team in the format. This comes after reports emerged that the series-decider could be Rohit’s swansong, sparking retirement talks on social media among fans and experts alike. However, the secretary has made it clear that the 39-year-old will continue to play as long as he is in the scheme of things.
“There are lot of speculations going on in media about Rohit Sharma’s future. I want to firmly assert that there has been no such discussion that Rohit will be playing his last match at Lord’s on Sunday,” Saikia told PTI in an exclusive interaction.
“Rohit is a regular member of the Indian ODI team and he will continue to represent the country as long as he is in the scheme of things. In other words, Lord’s ODI wont be his last match.”
Despite Rohit’s publicly stated desire to play until the 2027 ODI World Cup, his modest returns in the first two matches of the series — scores of 11 and 26 — have fuelled the debate.
After India’s defeat to England in the second ODI in Cardiff, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said that while it is true that Rohit has not got runs in the first couple of matches, he is too good a player to be put under pressure over his future.
“See, I don’t think a big player like Rohit Sharma can have any sort of pressure. He’s too good a player to feel that. Yes, he didn’t get runs in the opening two matches, but I don’t think that makes any difference. But today, it also looked like he’d probably get a good innings going. But that’s okay,” Kotak told the media in the post-match press conference.
Several reports had claimed that head coach Gautam Gambhir and Agarkar are on the same page that Virat Kohli is an automatic choice given his form and fitness but not Rohit.
