ODI World Cup is some distance away but India need Rohit in this transition phase

New Delhi: There were two instances during Rohit Sharma's lengthy post-tournament press conference on Sunday when the issue of his retirement cropped up.

The first time the subject was broached with him after a triumphant campaign in the Champions Trophy in Dubai, the Indian captain gave an open-ended answer, "No future plans, jaise chal raha hain, chalta rahega (the way it is going, it will continue that way)." When he next mentioned the dreaded 'R' word, it was more voluntary and was an afterthought to a completely different question.

Just before concluding the press meet, he said: "One more thing. I'm not going to retire from this format, just to make sure that no rumours are spread moving forward." Rohit's statement was a loaded one as the stress was on "this format", which is 50-over cricket.

He retired from T20Is after the World Cup triumph in Americas last year, and questions remain over his future in Test cricket, with the Indian team set to tour England this summer.

He spelt out his ambitions loud and clear and obviously, he has some unfinished business with an eye on the 2027 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

The World Cup is still some distance away and the Indian skipper is a bonafide legend of the ODI format.

By laying emphasis on "this format", Rohit has made his intentions clear and as long as he is scoring runs, age wouldn't be a barrier although he would be close to 40 by the time the marquee event comes calling.

While ODI is still his preferred format, Rohit has in no way said that he doesn't want to play Test matches. In fact, except the Australia tour and the series before that against New Zealand at home, he has been the team's best Test batter.

Rohit's best overseas performance came against England during the 2021 series where he scored a century at the Oval.

Jasprit Bumrah has shown his mettle as a Test skipper but Rohit is still the most revered leader in the Indian dressing room.

Owing to Bumrah's fitness concerns and the selectors' preference to groom Shubman Gill for some more time in the role of a deputy, Rohit remains the ideal candidate to continue leading the side as it goes through a transition phase.

Virat Kohli, Rohit's longtime teammate, aptly put it after the Champions Trophy final that the team's core is ready to play for the next eight years but it is his duty to put Indian cricket in good hands "as and when" he decides to call it a day.

The question is whether Rohit wants to continue playing the traditional five-day format in the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle starting against England at Headingly from June 20.

If Rohit wants to play only the ODI format, then he can feature in a maximum 27 international 50-over matches until the next World Cup, which will be held in February-March. As far as additional game time is concerned, he will also have the IPL besides playing the occasional Vijay Hazare Trophy matches.

In case Rohit doesn't play the Tests in England, then he would be featuring in only nine international series of three ODIs each in the next two years from now.

The series are against Bangladesh (away, August, 2025), Australia (away, October 2025), South Africa (December, 2025, home), New Zealand (January, 2026, home), England (3 ODIs, away), Afghanistan (June, 2026, home), West Indies (September-October, 2026, home), New Zealand (October, 2026, away), and Sri Lanka (December, 2026, home).

Fitness will also be taken into account in the coming time.

Counter argument

While retirement is very much a cricketer's individual call, the counter point will be if the national selectors or the BCCI feel that they need to look at the bigger picture and have only one among Rohit and Virat in the ODI set-up going forward.

Waiting in the wings is the prolific Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has a fabulous average of 52.82 and a strike-rate of 85.97 in 33 List A games, in which he has five hundreds including a double.

If the selectors are looking at Jaiswal for the 2027 World Cup, he would have to be played in these 27 games. It is a common practice that irrespective of format (T20 or ODI), if one is a contender to play the global tournament, he must get at least 25 games in the lead-up to the event.

The role of chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir will be important here. If they feel that they must go in with more experienced players, then Jaiswal is unlikely to fit in.

But the last word was said by a former national selector, who didn't wish to be named.

"When it comes to calls on players as big as Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma, the national selection committee never takes the decision on their own. It will be the BCCI top brass and certainly someone whose word is final in the board," he said.