After winning another global trophy as India’s captain, Rohit Sharma said he’s not retiring from ODIs. He also asked people to stop the rumors about him quitting one-day cricket. Sharma captained India to victory in the T20 World Cup last year and the Champions Trophy last week.
There was talk that Rohit, who is 37, might retire from ODIs after the big event, but he said that he’s going to keep playing in that format.
So, is Rohit aiming for the ODI World Cup in 2027?
The experienced player wouldn’t say for sure. He said he’s not planning that far ahead and is just focusing on his game right now.
But Australian legend Ricky Ponting thinks Rohit might be thinking about the next ODI World Cup, which South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia will co-host.
Ponting thinks Rohit’s performance as India’s opener in the Champions Trophy was good enough for him to keep going, and he’s put an end to the retirement rumors.
When you get to that stage of your career, everyone expects you to retire. I’m unsure why, because when you can still play as great as he did (in the Champions Trophy final), he try to stop those questions once and for all and say, ‘no, I’m still playing great. I love playing in this team. I love leading this team’, Ponting told ICC Review.
“And him saying that makes me think he must want to play in the next (50-over) World Cup (in 2027), he said.
Ponting also thinks that Rohit might want to make up for India’s loss in the 2023 World Cup final. They were the favorites but didn’t win under his captaincy.
“I think the fact that they (India) lost the last one and he was captain, that might be what he remembers. To try win the T20 World Cup, the Champions Trophy, and the ODI World Cup. When you see him play like he did in the Champions Trophy final, you wouldn’t say he’s done yet, Ponting said.
