The Indian skipper brushed away his retirement rumors after winning the Champions Trophy 2025.
Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh is not sure about the participation of Rohit Sharma in the World Cup 2027 hosted by South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. The Indian skipper will turn 40 years old by then. If his fitness and hunger for achievement remain the same, he can make it to the World Cup.
Harbhajan said, “That is way too far, he will have to see where his fitness is going, where his hunger is going.”
Rohit recently led India to their third Champions Trophy title in Dubai, following their T20 World Cup victory last year in Barbados. After an eleven-year drought of ICC titles, this is India’s second ICC trophy in the last nine months. Furthermore, the Men in Blue didn’t drop a match in either campaign.
The only trophy that is missing from captain Rohit’s cabinet now is the 50-over World Cup in white-ball format. India almost made it during the 2023 WC but stumbled in the last step against Australia. Since then, the skipper has been upfront to change the team’s all-round performance.
Following the skipper’s announcement to retire from T20Is in June 2024, after leading the team to their second T20 World Cup victory since 2007, speculation arose about his future in white-ball cricket. Many believed he might call it a day after the Champions Trophy 2025 Final. The same rumours were in the air regarding another star batter and former captain Virat Kohli. However, both the stalwarts made it clear that they were not going to retire anytime soon.
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In an interview with ESPN Cricinfo, Bhajji opined that if Rohit and Kohli can work hard and maintain their fitness levels alongside their hunger to do well for the team till 2027, then both of them can play in the WC.
“I feel that if anything is left for him to achieve is the 50-over World Cup. He would probably want to win but there is still two and a half years for that. If he’s still got it, he will have to work hard for it and if he works hard, he will play. So, is the case with Virat Kohli,” he stated.
Notably, after the Champions Trophy 2025 win, Rohit Sharma acknowledged that it is “very hard” to predict if he will play in the 2027 WC or not. But, later he mentioned keeping all his “options open.”
“It is very hard to say that right now. I want to see how well I am playing. Right now, I am playing really, really well, and I am enjoying everything I’m doing with this team, and the team is enjoying my company as well, which is nice. I cannot really say 2027, because it is too far, but I am keeping all my options open,” Rohit said to ICC.
The five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) winning captain will don the Mumbai Indians (MI) outfit for the league’s 18th edition starting on March 22. MI will take on arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings on March 23.
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