India batting legend Sunil Gavaskar stated that Rohit Sharma should anticipate more negative news if he doesn’t commit to playing in the 2027 World Cup. On October 4, Rohit was ousted from his position as ODI squad captain, and Shubman Gill assumed leadership of the team.
Shortly after the announcement, it was revealed that Rohit is currently unsure about whether he will play in the 2027 World Cup. Gavaskar told Sports Tak that there aren’t many ODIs being played right now and that the former skipper only plays one format.
“Of course. If you (Rohit Sharma) are non-committal, if you can’t say whether you’ll be ready for the next two years, be ready [for more bad news]. Even they are aware that if they only have to play ODI, there are rarely any. For that, they need to practice more and play something like the Vijay Hazare Trophy. This is possibly why they have taken that stance,” said Gavaskar on Sports Tak.
“We don’t know whether Rohit will be ready for the 2027 World Cup. He only plays ODIs now, and if we see the international calendar, the Indian team isn’t playing too many ODIs. Bilateral tours mostly include Tests and T20Is. If he only plays 5-7 ODIs in a year, he won’t get that kind of practice, which you need for a big tournament like a World Cup. If his place in the team isn’t certain, the decision to prepare Shubman Gill was taken.”
Rohit did a lot as the Indian team’s captain, according to Gavaskar, but it was time for India to move on and choose a younger leader.
“Personally, he has done a lot – won us the Champions Trophy and the T20 World Cup before that. There’s no two ways about his captaincy. But even he (Rohit Sharma) agrees with this decision because if you need to think two years ahead, then a young captain needs to be prepared. And this is the thought process the selection committee went ahead with,” said Gavaskar.
When India take on Australia on October 19, Rohit will begin his new cricket chapter as a regular player.
