Rohit Sharma and Co. will feature in Champions Trophy 2025 from February 20.
The Indian cricket team is all set to host England for three ODIs from February 6. The Rohit Sharma-led team will then move to Dubai to play three league-stage matches for the Champions Trophy 2025.
After the conclusion of the ICC event in early March, all eyes will be on the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
A report in The Times of India (TOI) highlighted that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wishes to begin the transition and training for the next World Test Championship (WTC) cycle and the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa.
As per the BCCI source, “The selectors and people on the board had this discussion with Rohit around the time of the last selection meeting. He has been told that he needs to decide how he wants to plan his future after the Champions Trophy. The team management has certain plans going into the next World Test Championship (WTC) cycle and the ODI World Cup. They want to ensure everyone is on the same page for a smoother transition.”
Rohit’s performance dip in the Tests can’t be ignored. The last few months have been extremely rough on the Indian skipper. Speculations of his retirement shook up the world. He sat out of the last match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) earlier this year.
Coming to ODIs, the Blues have played only six ODI games after their humiliating defeat in the 2023 World Cup in India. By the time of the 2027 World Cup, Rohit would be 40 years old. His fitness especially in the 50-over game will be questioned.
The Indian opener ended his T20I career on a high after winning the T20 World Cup last year.
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As for the captaincy role in Tests, Jasprit Bumrah fit perfectly into the shoes for BGT 2024-25. For ODIs, BCCI has plenty of options from KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, and more. Further, Shubman Gill is named as the vice-captain for two upcoming ODI tourneys.
The source added, “Bumrah’s chances of a long Test series or completing a full season will always be in doubt. The selectors may want a more stable option. Gill has been seen as a captaincy prospect but his returns in Test cricket have been average. Rishabh Pant could also be a strong candidate and maybe someone like Yashashvi Jaiswal can be groomed for the role.”
Rohit’s Test career hasn’t been extraordinary with 4,301 runs in 67 matches. He has averaged 40.57 while striking 18 fifties and 12 hundreds which includes a 200+ score against Australia.
On the contrary, the Nagpur-born batter has had a prestigious career in the shorter format. After 265 ODIs, Rohit is only the sixth Indian to cross the 10,000-run mark. He averages 49.16 with a striking rate of 92.43. He has 31 centuries and 57 half-centuries to his name. After Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit is in the third spot for scoring most centuries in this format of the game. He is the only cricketer to hit three double-centuries so far. His top score of 264 at Eden Gardens in 2014 is still talked about.
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