The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has denied that Rohit Sharma will retire from ODI and international cricket at Lord’s on July 19. However, one wonders how the rumours even came about. The news broke out after Rohit struggled in Cardiff.
Mind you, the veteran opener had struck a half-century just 3 matches ago. With one match left, you can’t even label it as one bad series yet. But the reports suggest that the management had already made up their mind. Rohit felt unwanted, and that reflected in how he batted.
Agarkar & Gambhir bashed for poor communication
Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin believes the selection committee, headed by Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir, are at fault. If they believed Rohit wasn’t part of the plan for the ODI World Cup 2027, they should’ve informed him after the Champions Trophy 2025, which India won under his leadership.
“If you ever felt, as a selector, coach or captain, that we don’t want these players in the 2027 World Cup, then you could have communicated that at the end of the Champions Trophy. If you go to a player and tell him that we want to move on from you, no player will like that,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
The off-spinner revealed that Gambhir had told him during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 that they wished to move on from him. Ashwin accepted that and didn’t even wait for the series to end before retiring from international cricket. He feels that a player of Rohit’s stature shouldn’t be moved on after one bad series or tour, but if the selectors or coach want to, the player must be told.
“Even when the coach came and communicated with me in Australia that they wanted to look past me, I accepted it. One bad series can happen to any player, but you have to communicate with the player,” he added.
Rohit Sharma still valuable
Ashwin understands that Yashasvi Jaiswal is breathing down Rohit’s neck. The southpaw has scored 2 hundreds in his last 3 ODIs. But he still believes Rohit will be valuable for the ODI World Cup. Mind you, Jaiswal has played just 4 matches in South Africa and has yet to play an ODI there.
“I am thinking we are going to South Africa in September and October. Do we need Rohit Sharma? If you ask me, I will say we need that experience. I know Yashasvi Jaiswal is pushing hard from behind,” Ashwin said.
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