There’s a huge uproar among Indian fans when one-day internationals (ODI) come up. The thrill to watch two of the biggest modern-day stars, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, is always through the roof. However, on the pitch currently, both are having contrasting results. One is batting like he has found a second wind; the other, like the team is carrying him because of his name. Rohit Sharma, after a failure in the first innings, once again endured a torrid time in the second ODI against England. In fact, he played his slowest ODI knock of all time, where he scored a minimum of 25 runs.
Slowest ODI innings by Rohit Sharma
| Match | Balls Faced | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|
| vs England, Cardiff, 2026* | 55.3 | 45.24 |
| vs Australia, Hyderabad, 2019 | 56.1 | 44.56 |
| vs Sri Lanka, Port of Spain, 2013 | 57.8 | 43.25 |
In the second ODI against England, Rohit was never in the zone. While Shubman Gill, who’s in peak of his powers, was sublime at one end, Rohit was timid. Once considered the most fearsome opener of the generation, Rohit was a shadow of himself as he failed to attack any bowler.
In fact, he got two big chances. Once, Gus Atkinson dropped the Hitman at long leg. Jofra Archer troubled Rohit with a short delivery and Rohit skied it. Thanks to the weird boundary dimensions in Cardiff, the ball remained out of Atkinson’s reach and went over the ropes for a four. In a few overs after that, Rohit was once again hurried and he skied another one. But luckily for him, it landed in between Jos Buttler and the fine leg fielder.
Rohit Sharma’s falling off the cliff
Rohit has come into the ODI series after a decent IPL 2026. He scored 283 runs at 31.44 in nine innings despite battling some niggles. He took his time, came back in the Afghanistan series and scored 48 and a 79 in two of those games. You could see Rohit wasn’t at his best but still tried to grind it out. But the thing is that Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was Virat Kohli’s replacement in that series, concluded the rubber with a fantastic century.
Although Jaiswal isn’t part of the England ODIs, there seems to be a sword hanging on Rohit’s neck. He desperately wants to play till the ODI World Cup 2027 and has made incredible efforts in his fitness to do so. Once mocked for being slightly chubby, Rohit worked on his fitness when he returned to international cricket after a ten-month break in October last year. He made some incredible contributions as well, becoming the Player of the series in Australia.
However, it hasn’t been smooth sailing since. Since that Australia tour, Rohit has averaged just 35.1 with a strike rate of 96. In comparison, Every other top-order Indian batter has averaged over 90. Rohit’s SR has been the worst as well. Something’s happened. Although Gautam Gambhir has reportedly given a free hand to Rohit, it isn’t showing in the game.
Most ODI runs for India (since Nov 2025)
| Player | Inns | Runs | Avg | SR | 100s/50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | 8 | 595 | 99.16 | 110.18 | 3/2 |
| Shubman Gill | 7 | 484 | 96.80 | 114.42 | 1/4 |
| Rohit Sharma | 11 | 387 | 35.18 | 95.79 | 0/3 |
| KL Rahul | 8 | 308 | 77.00 | 127.80 | 1/2 |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | 5 | 270 | 90.00 | 100.00 | 2/0 |
| Player | Career Span | Career Length |
|---|---|---|
| Sachin Tendulkar | 1989–2013 | 24 years, 1 day |
| Mohinder Amarnath | 1969–1989 | 19 years, 310 days |
| Rohit Sharma* | 2007–2026 | 19 years, 23 days |
| Lala Amarnath | 1933–1952 | 19 years |
| Ashish Nehra | 2001–2017 | 18 years, 250 days |
Rohit Sharma the opener: Phases
Rohit Sharma’s ODI career as an opener has had clear phases. It started in 2013 when MS Dhoni pushed him up the order during the Champions Trophy. Ironically, the moment came in Cardiff only.
That one call changed everything for him. He went from a middle-order floater to the man India built their ODI batting around. The runs came in bulk after that. Three double hundreds, including the 264, all came in that stretch. Then he became captain. And he took the onus on himself.
Rohit rode the wave of ‘selfless’, and he meant it. Between January 2023 and the Champions Trophy in 2025, he came out swinging. The idea was just that he wanted to get India way ahead in the first 10 overs. The numbers were through the roof too. In that period his powerplay strike rate in ODIs was 122.56.
But since giving up captaincy, that intent has dipped. He came back to ODIs in October 2025 after a 10-month gap, but not as captain. Just as a batter. And from October 2025 onwards, his powerplay strike rate has fallen to 86.12 (now it would be worse after IND vs ENG 2nd ODI). Part of it is obvious. When you’re only playing as a batter, the pressure is different. You’re trying to score, not set the tone for 10 other guys.
The noise around Yashasvi Jaiswal waiting in the wings probably doesn’t help either. And after 19 years of international cricket, a bit of that natural sharpness is always going to fade.
Cricket
Rohit Sharma digs his own grave with slowest ODI knock as Yashasvi Jaiswal knocks on door
