Rohit Sharma has put to bed the growing speculation about him calling time on his career. “I am not going to retire,” the Indian captain said after India beat New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday night to win consecutive ICC trophies in a span of eight months.
India’s record in the last three ICC men’s limited-overs tournaments with Rohit at helm has been nothing short of incredible. The only defeat, a heartbreaking one at that for the cricket-crazy nation, came in the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia, which snapped their ten-match winning streak in that home event.
Rohit boasts an impressive record of 27 wins and 3 losses at ICC limited-overs tournaments. With 27 victories under his tutelage, Rohit is already third on the list of most wins at ICC men’s tournaments, behind MS Dhoni (41) and Ponting (40).
One of the key changes Rohit made, both on a personal and team level, was to bat more aggressively. He capitalized on the field restrictions in the first ten overs, ensuring India often remained ahead of the curve in challenging chases. As far as financial returns are concerned, you can also stay ahead of the eight ball if you explore online casinos UK. Over the last three years, the stylish right-hander has scored 1292 runs in this phase, averaging 61.52 with a strike rate of 119.62.
While the doubling down of intent in Rohit’s batting approach has resulted in fewer mammoth knocks and lower conversion rates, his overall consistency has not diminished. His batting average was 48.60 before he turned 35, only one run less than in the last three years.
He even reaffirmed the aforementioned statement to ensure there is no room for conjecture left. “One more thing. I’m not going to retire from this format, just to make sure that no rumours are spread moving forward,” Rohit, who marshalled the men in blue to four ICC trophy finals, including two titles, declared. He mentioned that there is still a lot of hunger in him, and his commitment to the game remains intact.
The swashbuckling opener scored 180 runs in the Champions Trophy, crossing the 11,000-run mark during the course of the tournament. In 273 ODIs, he has 11,168 runs at an average of 48.76 with 32 centuries, including three double tons which is a herculean feat even by modern scoring standards.
The topic of retirement emerged during the Champions Trophy, with many presuming that he would draw the curtains on his 50-over journey, much like he had done after the T20 World Cup in Barbados last June. Immediately after leading the team to the title in the T20 World Cup, he took retirement from the T20 format.
Moreover, there has been speculation about Virat Kohli bidding adieu but the experienced campaigner has fared well in the Champions Trophy after a lukewarm tour of Australia. He scored 218 runs, including a century, in the five matches. Like Rohit, he too put a full stop to his T20I engagements in Barbados last June.
As far as Rohit’s future in Tests is concerned, nothing is cast is stone yet. His recent performances in the longest format have been poor, prompting him to take the shocker of a step of omitting himself from the playing XI for the Test in Sydney during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
