Rohit Sharma has broken his silence on speculation that India's third ODI against England at Lord's was his final one-day international—and potentially his last appearance for the national team.
The veteran opener, who scored a superb 138 off 110 balls in India's 27-run defeat on Sunday, brushed aside the retirement rumours after the match, saying he has learned to ignore the "outside noise" throughout his career.
He said:
"If there is no noise, there is no fun. My job is inside. Their job is outside. That's how I look at it."
Rohit had endured a disappointing start to the series, managing scores of 11 and 26 in the opening two ODIs. However, the 39-year-old responded in emphatic fashion at Lord's, smashing 17 fours and five sixes to register the first ODI century by an Indian batter at the iconic venue.
Despite Rohit's performance, India went down by 27 runs, conceding the three-match series 2-1.
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The retirement speculation had gathered pace ahead of the Lord's ODI, with multiple media reports claiming that the Indian selectors had decided to move on from Rohit as they begin preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
India captain Shubman Gill, however, dismissed suggestions that Rohit had informed the team about any retirement plans.
"He's not told us anything. I think it's all out in the media, but there's not been any discussion like that in the team," Gill said after the match.
Earlier this year, Rohit had reiterated his ambition of leading India to the 2027 ODI World Cup title, underlining that lifting the trophy remains his biggest motivation.
"I definitely want to go out there and win the World Cup for my country; that is something that I've always looked upon. I've grown up watching this 50-over World Cup. There was no T20 World Cup, no IPL back then, and that was the pinnacle of cricket, which used to happen every four years. So, there was desperation; there was so much weight for that one trophy. And yeah, I really want that trophy, so I'm going to try and do everything in my power and capacity to work hard and get it," Rohit had said during an ICC event in February.
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