Battling against time, Rohit lacking support from selectors’

Rohit Sharma faces retirement questions as he nears 40, with selectors favoring younger talent. His next match may be his farewell, amid mixed performances.

Mumbai: The R word has followed Rohit Sharma over the past 15 months. For him to play the next ODI World Cup he would have to last another 15 months under the shadow of the retirement question. Continuing under that shadow of the retirement question would be improbable for him at age 40.

India’s Rohit Sharma walks off the pitch after being caught out by England's Jos Buttler during the second ODI. (AP)

It’s what the selectors have believed for a while. When India won the Champions Trophy last March, it is learnt the selectors preferred Rohit leave on a high and handed over opening duties to the next generation of batters.

Rohit lost his captaincy. He took a fresh guard as a player, confident that his experience would fuel his ambition, help sway public opinion, and ultimately win over the selectors and team management. That’s not how things have panned out. The word is that Sunday’s series decider against England at Lord’s could turn into Rohit’s farewell match. No one in the BCCI is saying it out loud.

There has been no word from the man himself, which is significant. Champion athletes prefer to write their final chapter themselves and it’s difficult to believe Rohit has not read the room.

A mere statistical glance won’t reveal everything about Rohit’s current form. In 14 ODIs since last year’s Champions Trophy, Rohit averages 45.3, which is only slightly below his career average of 48.5. But running parallel, his career journey has been rocked by moments of change. Over the last two years, Rohit has had to scale back his international career piecemeal — first T20Is, then Tests.

Sticking to only one format has left him facing challenges in discovering batting rhythm, touch and timing. Revisit Rohit’s 83-minute stay in Thursday’s 2nd ODI against England at Cardiff, and you will see why his painfully slow 47-ball 26.

Before his dismissal, his batting partner Virat Kohli reached out and suggested that he take time. But Rohit lost the patience game.

Purely from a coaching lens, India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak was not overly worried. “On a day there are a lot of batters… they don’t get the momentum they are looking for,” he said on Thursday. “You might see a completely different innings from Rohit Sharma at Lord’s, so I wouldn’t use the word that he was ‘struggling’.”

Before England, Rohit got scores of 16, 48 and 79 against Afghanistan. Critics would argue, what about his 26, 24, 11 against New Zealand before that. Those backing the senior batter would point to 57, 14, 75 against South Africa in the series before. Go further back, where he scored a glorious hundred in Sydney.

In the final analysis, the word from the selection room is that these performances speak of a chequered record for a 39-year-old. Beyond cold stats, his declining reflexes, fielding limitations, and the warning signs from a hamstring injury during the IPL don’t sit favourably.

There is also a long list of young batters, waiting for their turn. The 24-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal has already left a mark with 2 double tons in only his 6 outings. Several other aspirants are waiting to audition.

Like all great players, Rohit’s mental reserves may persuade him to keep pushing. He may have jotted down a World Cup win to overcome the grief from four years back. But in 2023, the Mumbai bomber was a point of difference, having embraced a hyper-aggressive avatar to win Powerplays on his own. Based on what the present establishment - team management and selectors—thinks, they want a lot more.