Earlier today, the India squad for the upcoming white-ball tour of Australia was announced where the Men in Blue will play three ODIs and five T20Is, starting from October 19. What made headlines was batting stalwart Rohit Sharma relinquishing his ODI captaincy to next-gen star Shubman Gill.
While Rohit was still named in the squad, the recent development raises a big question over his future plans and availability for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar justified the decision with the goal of evolving Gill into an all-format captain. Furthermore, Agarkar also claimed that the veteran right-hander was non-committal for the ICC event.
“Both Rohit and Virat are non-committal about the World Cup [2027]”, Agarkar said at team announcement press conference.
However, former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has now contradicted Agarkar’s statement claiming that Rohit Sharma remains extremely motivated to feature in the mega-event.
“When Rohit Sharma was preparing and had practice sessions with me a few days ago, he was looking to the 2027 World Cup and really wanted to win it since he couldn’t in 2023 and make India feel proud,” Nayar said on Star Sports.
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During the squad announcement, Agarkar made it clear that the paradigm decision was done keeping Rohit Sharma in the loop and the development was duly communicated.
Echoing on the same lines, Nayar highlighted that he hopes that the BCCI gave the respect to Rohit and not just pass the message on a ‘phone call’.
Nayar added, “Only one thing matters for me, if you are doing it, then do it right. If you are taking such a big step, a communication for something like this takes time. It’s not a phone call, you meet and talk.”
Rohit has already retired from T20Is and Tests and is only active in ODIs. With the speculations regarding his future growing even stronger after today, it remains to be seen if the Australia tour will be a farewell series for the former India skipper.
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