Rohit Sharma’s final international cricket match may be Sunday’s third ODI between India and England at Lord’s, as the national selection committee is unlikely to select the white-ball legend after the current series in the UK.
Rohit has only amassed 241 runs at an average of 30.1 and a strike rate of 88.6 with one half-century in the previous eight ODIs.
Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of selectors, is in Cardiff as a visiting selector, and it is evident that they are not considering the 39-year-old India captain who won two ICC trophies for the upcoming ODI World Cup.
“The national selectors are keen that Yashasvi Jaiswal who scored two hundreds in three innings get a longer rope. There are around 20 games and Jaiswal needs to be given those 20 games.
“No one can tell Rohit to retire but this is very clear that going forward for the home series vs West Indies in September, the selectors would like to look forward. Rohit’s future is a decision that he needs to take,” PTI quoted a BCCI source as saying.
It should be noted that Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir agree that Virat Kohli should be selected automatically due to his form and fitness, but not Rohit.
It is acknowledged that Jaiswal, who is next in line, will not lose out on valuable playing time if Rohit is allowed to play outside of England.
It should be noted that Rohit and the selection committee disagreed on his decision to quit from Test cricket.
Those with access to Rohit’s version attested that he never meant to play just two games and had made himself available for the entire series, despite the selection committee’s close associates maintaining that they didn’t want Rohit to make a decision after playing two of the five Tests in England.
