Fresh reports have emerged claiming that Rohit Sharma may not be an automatic selection for India's 27th ODI World Cup. This caused widespread debates among cricket fans on social media with old videos of the veteran batter flooding the internet.
The Times of India reported that the selection committee has decided that Sharma will not be the first choice opener after the ongoing England series finishes with the third ODI at the Lord's Stadium on Sunday. This means the match on Sunday could be Sharma's last match for India.
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The rumour mill started as TOI claimed that India's selectors and team management are planning for the 2027 ODI World Cup by gradually transitioning towards a younger squad, while considering a rotation policy involving senior players including Virat Kohli and KL Rahul.
The proposed rotation policy is aimed at providing more opportunities to emerging players without completely moving away from experienced players, it said.
As the report gained traction, social media platforms were flooded with old interviews, emotional speeches, World Cup moments and tribute videos featuring the former Indian captain, with many fans expressing concern that his ODI career might be nearing its end.
The debate over Sharma's future comes despite the veteran opener continuing to remain available for ODI cricket after retiring from Test and T20 International formats.
India were bowled out for 233 with Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer scoring fluent 65 and 66 respectively as the English pacers again exploited Indian batting struggles with bouncing deliveries.
According to TOI, it is believed that the team management and selectors wanted to give Yashasvi Jaiswal a full series in England but they stuck with Rohit Sharma to give him another chance to rediscover his fluency. Sources cited in the report say that the election commission and team management have conveyed their views about Rohit to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
"The selectors had made up their minds to drop him after the ODI series against Afghanistan at home last month. Rohit also declined to rest for the third ODI in Chennai to give Jaiswal a look in. Eventually Captain Shubhman Gill had to bat at number three to accommodate Jaiswal," a BCCI source told TOI.
As per the current status, Rohit Sharma has not publicly commented on the report, leaving his ODI future the subject of speculation while India continues its preparations for the next World Cup cycle.
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