Though Rohit Sharma has stated that he will not retire until after the 2025 Champions Trophy, he ‘doesn’t want to draw any lines’ and ponder whether he will or will not compete in the 2027 ODI World Cup.
With a huge four-wicket victory against New Zealand on Sunday, Rohit steered India to their third Champions Trophy championship. With only a few months ago he had retired from T20Is after the 2024 T20 World Cup and at age 37, some people thought the 2027 World Cup would be too far off for him; hence there was speculation about his future before the tournament. Still, he quashed it by stating from the ODI format that he ‘wasn’t going anywhere’.
And AT THE CURRENT time I am taking life. It wouldn’t be fair of me to think too far down the road. Rohit explained in a JioHotstar interview after the team secured a victory that at present his attention is on playing well and keeping the right attitude. I would prefer not to draw lines and say will I will or will play in the 2027 World Cup. Right now, it is useless to make such comments”.
Adding seven fours and three sixes for his 76 (83), Rohit as well claimed the Player of the Match in the last game. He not only set up the base for India’s 252-run chase but also answered the critics clamoring for him to change his strategy and tone down the aggression.
Rohit told about how the team shifted its perspective from ‘individual milestones’ before the 2023 World Cup.
We had lengthy talks on altering our attitude before the 2023 World Cup came up. The focus had shifted away from personal achievements—scoring a hundred or five wickets—because, after all, if the team doesn’t win, those resonate. In 2019 I came to know this the hard way. I hit five hundreds, but what did it mean when the trophy was not taken?” he asked.
Rohit also discussed his aspirations for his team to be perceived: “I don’t want to tell other teams how they should see us.” All I really want is that they never consider us seriously. We can still come back and turn the game around even if we are five wickets falling. Our opponents should constantly feel the strain of playing against us until the last ball of the game is delivered,” he noted.
