Indian captain Rohit Sharma categorically denied any rumours doing the rounds of him retiring from ODIs following the Champions Trophy triumph after beating New Zealand in the final. Rohit hasn't put a date on his career and neither counted the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2027 out of the picture but admitted that he is still playing well in this format and is loving to be part of this squad that finally got hands on an ODI title after missing out on the 2023 World Cup, having lost to Australia in the final.
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting reckoned that the World Cup 2023 final loss seems to still stinging Rohit and Co and would want to tick that box as well in 2027. "I think probably the fact that they lost the last one and he was captain, that might be the thing that's playing on the back of his mind," Ponting said on the ICC Review.
"Just have one more crack at trying to win the T20 World Cup, the Champions Trophy, and the ODI World Cup. I mean when you see him play like he played in the Champions Trophy final, you wouldn't say that his time is up just yet," Ponting added. Rohit had a disappointing campaign with the bat until he turned it around in the final with an attractive 76 at the top of the order in a 252-run chase on a tricky wicket in Dubai.
Before the final, the rumours started doing rounds that Rohit would take a call on his future after the Champions Trophy but was quick to refute any of it being true. “One more thing, I’m not going to retire from this format, just to make sure no more rumours are spread,” Rohit signed off from the post-match press conference for the final.
“When you start getting to that point of your career, everyone's waiting for you to retire,” Ponting said. “And I don't know why, when you can still play as well as he's played (in the final), I think he was just trying to put those questions to bed once and for all and say, ‘no, I'm still playing well enough. I love playing in this team. I love leading this team.’
“And I think, the fact that he said that, to me, it means that he must have that goal in mind of playing in the next (50-over) World Cup (in 2027)," Ponting further said reading between the lines. India are set to play 24 ODIs in the next two and a half years and by the time the next ODI World Cup arrives, Rohit will be a with few months older than 40. But for now, he is keeping his options open.