BCCI expected Rohit Sharma to retire from ODIs after Champions Trophy; Ajit Agarkar to act as captaincy saga intensifies
Indian cricket is going through an interesting time. The legends are on their way out, and the next generation is taking over. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the two stalwarts and torch-bearers of Indian cricket, who held the batting over the last decade and a half, announced their retirements from T20Is last year and now have decided to walk away from Tests. Only ODIs remain – the format whose future has been widely debated. With still a good chunk of ODIs left between now and the 2027 World Cup, there is a chance that both Kohli and Rohit are eyeing to finish off their storied careers with the only ICC limited-overs trophy they haven't won together.
Here is the catch, though. The World Cup is still more than two years away, and by then, Rohit would be 40 while Kohli would be touching that figure. While there is no doubt that both would be eager to carry on, the team management may view at mission World Cup differently. For Kohli, the scheme of things looks a lot better as he is a lot fitter in comparison and has his batting approach sorted. With Rohit, it's been a bit of a hit and miss lately.
Two years ago, Rohit adopted this carefree batting approach during the 2023 World Cup, which, to a large extent, is continuing to work for him. However, with age catching up, how much longer this approach will bring him success will be a crucial factor. Besides, with reports doing the rounds that Rohit will no longer be captain during the ICC tournament in South Africa, the job becomes that much tougher for Rohit. Usually, how Indian cricket works is that it grooms a successor. For example, MS Dhoni knew that it would be tough for him to work past the 2019 World Cup, and hence Virat Kohli was appointed India's ODI captain in 2017. Similarly, with the 2027 World Cup likely being Rohit's swansong, the chances of him captaining are grim.
For the first time, Indian cricket is working on the theory of split captaincy. While Rohit is captaining India in the ODIs, Suryakumar Yadav is in command of the ODI team, and the newly appointed captain, Shubman Gill, will begin his journey in another 11 days' time. But it may not be the case for too long. A chance in guard is loading, and it could be coming shortly.
"Quite frankly, a lot of us thought Rohit wanted to move away from the ODI format after winning the Champions Trophy. There have been no discussions between Rohit and the selectors over his ODI future," a BCCI source told The Hindustan Times.
As part of the evolving cycle, the BCCI chairman of selectors is expected to spring into action to shape Rohit's successor. Despite his questionable tactics as Test captain, Rohit has been tremendous when it comes to leading India in white-ball formats. In the last three ICC events, India have lost just one match under Rohit – the World Cup final to Australia. In the last two years, Rohit has led India to two ICC championships – the T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the Champions Trophy 2025 in Dubai. If the Bangladesh tour goes as planned, then India will play their next ODI series in August; otherwise, in October, when they travel to Australia to play a three-match series.
August 2025: 3 matches in Bangladesh
October 2025: 3 matches in Australia
November 2025: 3 matches against South Africa at home
January 2026: 3 matches against New Zealand at home
June 2026: 3 matches against Afghanistan at home
July 2026: 3 matches in England
September 2026: 3 matches against West Indies at home
November 2026: 3 matches in New Zealand
December 2026: 3 matches against Sri Lanka at home.
Between now and the World Cup, India play at least 27 ODIs – updated as per the current FTP – but more matches can be added, and changes can be made. With so many matches being spread across two years, and with the possibility that Shreyas Iyer has joined India's race for captaincy, and Gill already in contention, Rohit's run as captain could be coming to an end.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
36 minutes ago
- NDTV
Virat Kohli "Hasn't Worked Out Solutions In...": Star's Technical Flaw Singled Out As Test Retirement Reason
A probable lack of solution for his recurring struggles with the ball outside the off-stump prompted Virat Kohli to take retirement from Test cricket ahead of the England tour, feels former spinner Monty Panesar. Panesar, who played 50 Tests and helped England to a rare Test series win in India back in 2012, reckons Kohli would have found it tougher to deal with the moving ball around the off-stump than his previous tours of England. In 2018, Kohli had staged a stellar turnaround in England after a forgettable tour of 2014 when James Anderson got the better of him in the corridor of uncertainty. "With Kohli, what has happened is that against the ball outside the off stump, the fifth stump line, especially in Australia on fast bouncy pitches he was struggling," the left-arm spinner told PTI. "So he probably thought maybe the fact that in England it is going to swing a lot more, he'll probably hasn't worked out solutions in that corridor of uncertainty. And I think that's probably been one of the reasons why he thought to retire and put all his energy with RCB and ODI cricket for India." Panesar said that Kohli had the answers to bounce back in 2018 but to do the same at this stage of his career would naturally be much tougher. "I think he's done very well as a cricketer in all formats. He has been a brilliant ambassador for Test cricket. He probably feels that he's done his best, he's achieved everything and probably feels like it's time for the youngsters to step up. "It would a lot tougher for Kohli to repeat the same performances in 2018. Just simple fact that he's been struggling over the last 12 to 18 months with that ball outside off stump. He hasn't got a solution for that, you know problem that he has on fourth and fifth stump. "So he's thinking it's better for Indian cricket to give youngsters a go and hopefully find the next superstar," said Panesar, who is commentating on the Saurashtra Pro T20 League. Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired from Test cricket last month, leaving a huge void in the dressing room. Shubman Gill will captain the team in transition, starting with five Tests in England beginning on June 20. England can't afford to produce green tops While India are not high on experience, England don't have a fearsome bowling attack in the absence of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer, who might be fit for the second Test. Panesar said it's even stevens going into the first Test. "It would be an interesting series. It would depend on how India plays the swinging ball. Do they attack? Do they defend? "It is going to be very warm, pitches are going to be flat. I don't think England would look to take home advantage. They will produce neutral pitches. They can't play Bazball on a seaming pitches. That will also play into the hands of Indian batters as they would like playing on flat pitches. "ECB wants the games against India to go into the fourth and the fifth day. I don't think anybody wants three three-day Test matches in a five match series. So I think England are gonna nullify home advantage," said the 43-year-old. Two spinners may come in handy at Oval and Manchester England have named one spinner in their 14-man squad for the first Test, India have three options in Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav for the whole series. "Jadeja is expected to play majority of the games. You can play two spinners at Old Trafford and Oval. The ball turns even in Birmingham. Sundar can be your second spinner," said Panesar. Stokes takes more time to regain rhythm with bat than ball Panesar is also eager to see how Ben Stokes does following his comeback from a long injury lay-off. "His bowling is good, he can chip in with 10-15 overs. When you need a wicket he's the go-to guy. Stokes needs to be utilized and he's just coming back from an injury so I'm not sure if he's going to have the same impact with the bat like he has with the ball. "I expect him to have more of an impact with the ball than the bat but as the Test series unfolds maybe his batting will go into shape. He finds his rhythm quicker with the bowling than batting," added Panesar.
NDTV
36 minutes ago
- NDTV
Atiqa Mir Becomes First Indian To Secure Top-10 Finish At Rotax Euro Trophy
Ten-year-old Indian racing sensation Atiqa Mir added another first to her name by securing a creditable top-10 finish in the Rotax Euro Trophy, a major international karting series. The Akcel GP-backed driver finished ninth in the Rotax Euro Trophy Round 2 staged at Steel Ring Circuit over the weekend. Atiqa, the first Indian to get financial and technical support from Formula 1, had a strong qualifying, finishing seventh in her group. She had the misfortune of having two bumper penalties but despite that, she finished in 10th place after thee heats. In the pre-finals on Sunday, the heavens opened up and with no prior experience of driving in the wet on this track, Atiqa showed her exceptional natural talent and fought hard with the best drivers in the world. Atiqa, who is mentored by India's first Formula 1 driver Narain Karthikeyan, qualified for the finals and was 10th on the grid. The finals were held in even more treacherous wet conditions and Atiqa was in top form again. After dropping four places at the start, she fought back to finish ninth. Atiqa ended as the highest placed Indian and Asian in the highly-competitive field. Reflecting on the weekend, Atiqa said: "That was an amazing weekend, I learnt so much driving with the best drivers in the world. I had very good pace in the dry and my progress in the wet was good. "The team and my mechanic Adam did a really good job this week and I'm thankful to them, my parents and all the people back home.' The Rotax Euro Trophy (often called RMCET) is a major international karting championship for drivers who race using Rotax MAX engines, which are some of the most popular kart engines globally. Among Formula 1 drivers who have raced in this series in their formative years include reigning world champion Max Verstappen, George Russell, Lando Norris ad current championship leader Oscar Piastri. Listen to the latest songs, only on
NDTV
36 minutes ago
- NDTV
Pat Cummins' Brutal Dig At England After Australia Get Booted Out Of Lord's Because Of India Training
Just days ahead of the World Test Championship final against South Africa, the Australian cricket team's training hit bizarre bump. According to several reports, Australia were made to look for a training ground on Saturday after the WTC finalists were informed that the Lord's ground was not available for training sessions. According to Code Sports, the Indian cricket team was given preference over Australia for training at Lord's, despite the side's Test series against England starting on June 20. The teams play at Lord's from July 10 for the third Test of the five-match series. On Sunday, Australia got access to the venue. Australia captain Cummins was, however, unaffected by the incident. Instead, he took a brutal dig at England over an incident that happened during the 2023 Ashes. In that series, Australia Usman Khawaja was pulled by a MCC member while the Australian cricket team was returning following a session where Alex Carey dismissed Jonny Bairstow via run out. 'I think this is the best version of the stadium this morning,' Cummins said, according to 'There's no one around, which is great. I'm sure it will be much more civil this time around. Things got pretty heated in the middle of that Ashes series, but I think a lot of them will have learned their lesson and I'm sure they'll be very polite.' A report in Fox Cricket has claimed that the Indian team was given the permission to train at Lord's "at the expense of the Australian team" at Pat Cummins ' men were 'booted out'. The report also highlighted that while the WTC final starts on June 11, the Indian team doesn't play its first Test against England until June 20. In fact, India's Test against England at Lord's is the third match of the series, and will start on July 10. After being denied access initially, Australian players finally had the opportunity to test themselves at the venue on Sunday. Australia captain Pat Cummins later spoke about his team's preparations, plans, and the abuse they constantly get whenever playing at Lord's. "I think this is the best version of the stadium this morning," he said. "There's no one around, which is great. I'm sure it will be much more civil this time around. "Things got pretty heated in the middle of that Ashes series, but I think a lot of them will have learned their lesson and I'm sure they'll be very polite."
