Despite his seemingly laid-back demeanor, Rohit Sharma is one of the toughest men in the world of cricket and is not known for holding back.
It has come to light that the national selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, intends to offer Yashasvi Jaiswal a long rope in the ODI setup going forward, therefore if he chooses to dig his heels, some of that battling spirit would be needed.
The management of the Indian team, particularly head coach Gautam Gambhir, has tacitly supported the proposal.
The only person who would know if and how much fight is left in the tank is Rohit, who has earned the right to retire on his own terms after 513 international matches, 20,289 runs, and 50 hundreds in all formats.
However, in 15 months, when South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia host the 50-over ODI World Cup, the selectors are also free to choose the best team they believe would be a title challenger.
India’s next ODI is scheduled for September 27 at home against the West Indies, which coincides with the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya for the T20 team. This comes after July 19 at Lord’s.
It will be intriguing to observe how the selection committee does its duties if Rohit chooses to hand in there.
One way to characterize Rohit’s connection with the Gambhir-Agarkar duo is as a lack of mutual trust.
Three people with independent minds make up the story of Rohit, Agarkar, and Gambhir. A somebody with a little flexibility might have served as a mediator between the three.
Up until a few years ago, Rahul Dravid kept Rohit and Agarkar together for two campaigns: the 2023 ODI World Cup in India and the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies. Under Rohit, India prevailed in the latter competition.
Gambhir’s convictions are extremely different from Dravid’s.
There are uncanny parallels between the purported Rohit vs Gambhir clash and the 2005 altercation between Sourav Ganguly and Greg Chappell.
When the Kolkata Knight Riders were facing the Mumbai Indians at Wankhede in the 2024 IPL, it was already known that Dravid would be stepping down as head coach following the ICC event. Gambhir was a clear favorite when the BCCI was searching for a new head coach.
During that evening training session at Wankhede, Rohit approached Gambhir and said, “Gauti bhai Indian team mein aa jaao” (Gauti bhai join the Indian team). Gambhir responded, “If you remain captain, I will definitely join.”
But there were also those who cautioned Rohit by asking pointed questions such as, ”You are so used to the Rahul Dravid school of man-management. This will be a different challenge. Are you up for it?” he said.
The fear wasn’t unjustified. The cracks appeared after India’s 0-3 home loss to New Zealand in the Test series, and by the time the Australia Tour took place, the bond had completely collapsed.
On January 2, the day before Australia’s New Year’s Day Test began in Sydney, Rohit was seen at the SCG having a lengthy conversation with Gambhir and Agarkar as the squad was training. Given that Rohit was out of runs, it was obvious that something was wrong and that he wanted to sit out.
Agarkar had told Rohit not to “sit out” since his selection for the upcoming series in England would be a problem in six months, according to people close to the selection panel.
It seems that Rohit intended to retire from Test cricket and make his announcement the next day. However, he famously said, during an interview with the broadcasters, ”I am a father of two. I know what is good for me.” It has been reported that Agarkar and Gambhir were taken aback. The already shaky trust was further damaged.
In between, Rohit struck a game-winning knock against New Zealand in the final in Dubai and guided the Indian side to a Champions Trophy victory. However, contradictory accounts emerged just before the England tour selections were made.
Those close to Rohit insist that he committed to all five games and didn’t discuss playing only two. In reality, Gambhir had talked to him about the possible bowlers they would see during the series.
When questioned, however, some close to the selection committee claim that he had informed them that he would accept a call following the first two Test matches, which the panel found objectionable. Rohit announced his retirement when selectors informed him that he would be let go. Not much faith remained.
The Champions Trophy-winning captain’s removal from 50-over command in the very next series, which was scheduled seven months after the ICC event, was what totally destroyed Rohit’s confidence. Even after the IPL, there was no 50-over cricket that would have offered Rohit an opportunity to play. This was not his fault.
He was really disappointed when Agarkar told him to go on while keeping the 2027 World Cup in mind, and the talks were challenging.
Gambhir and Agarkar were in agreement. Following this, Rohit turned into a lone ranger with the sole objective of winning the 50-over World Cup, but the Agarkar-Gambhir combination showed no commitment.
Rohit’s positive batsmanship was impacted by the lack of clarity and communication, and the outcomes decreased. However, he wouldn’t have anticipated a narrative about moving on from him on the day he had one of his poorest innings. The story of Rohit, Agarkar, and Gambhir may still take unexpected turns.
