If there were any doubts left over the future of Rohit Sharma, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia’s remarks in a review meeting yesterday in Mumbai put an end to them. Not long ago, ahead of the third and final ODI at Lord’s in July, the Indian Express reported that the series decider was likely to be Rohit’s last, as he had been told by the selection committee that he was no longer in their 2027 World Cup plans.
In what was considered a swansong match, Rohit then scored a fantastic 138 off 110 balls, even though India lost the match and the series 2-1. Nobody exactly knows what transpired in the lead-up to the match, but with that knock, one thing for sure happened that the BCCI now had no grounds for dropping him. That he had bought himself time. India are travelling to New Zealand for a full series in October-November, including a five-game ODI series. What the Lord’s knock did was secure Rohit a place in the 50-overs squad for New Zealand. Anyway, let’s see what Saikia said after the meeting with Gautam Gambhir, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and VVS Laxman on Thursday. If you are a Rohit fan, the BCCI secretary’s words will be music to your ears.
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{{/usCountry}}Deep Dive
What did BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia say about Rohit Sharma's future in international cricket?
Why is Rohit Sharma's performance in the upcoming New Zealand series crucial for his World Cup selection?
How did Rohit Sharma's century in the last ODI against England impact his standing with the selectors?
“He is playing superbly in all matches. What more do you want? In the last match, he scored 130-140 runs. So why is there speculation? I do not want to give fodder to the speculators,” Saikia said.
Rohit was anyway going to New Zealand, but after Saikia’s words, his confidence will get a massive boost. But the secretary's remarks don’t guarantee that Rohit will feature in the 2027 World Cup. The batter will have to remember that. Only performances will keep him in the international arena. Say, if Rohit doesn’t do well in New Zealand, the clamour for his head will grow once again. Needless to say, there are many experts and fans who are of the opinion that he is not that good anymore and can’t be in the team, especially when there is a high-quality opener in Yashasvi Jaiswal waiting in the wings.
Readers will remember that Virat Kohli was meted out the same treatment in Australia last year. After he got back-to-back ducks, fans wanted him to retire from international cricket. Then, in the final game of the three-ODI series, he scored 70-odd runs and featured in an unbeaten stand with centurion Rohit to help India avoid a whitewash, and save his neck a bit. Thereafter, India played in home conditions, and Kohli piled on the runs to completely move on from the criticism of the Australia tour.
So, both players can play in the World Cup, provided they don’t fail spectacularly. In India, on friendly batting wickets, they will be fine, so these foreign tours are very important. If not great, they will have to do reasonably well to avoid criticism and calls for ouster. The conditions in South Africa are different to those in India — probably comparable with those in New Zealand, England and Australia — so a good show in New Zealand can go a long way for Rohit. Actually, now he has his destiny in his own hands. He keeps on scoring, and he plays in the World Cup. As simple as that.