While the T20 World Cup fever is reaching an all-time high, former India captain Rohit Sharma has already set his sights on the upcoming ICC event. Rohit, who retired from T20I cricket in 2024 and Test cricket in the ensuing year, has stated in a recent interaction the importance of having the ODI World Cup trophy in his collection.
Speaking at a recent ICC event, Rohit said, “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.”
Message to Team India management?
Rohit’s statement comes at a time when the veteran batsman, along with his teammate Virat Kohli, has been knocked off the A+ Grade pay cycle in the recently announced BCCI annual contracts and instead put in the B grade category, signaling a change of guard in Indian cricket.
Meanwhile, both Rohit and Virat have had to deal with mounting pressure ever since their retirement from Test cricket. Uncertainty has also remained about whether the veteran duo will be in the best shape come the 2027 T20 World Cup.
Since both Rohit and Virat now play just one format, it also becomes harder to stay in good nick and keep that form going forward, given that ODI series become few and far between the T20I and Test clashes.
However, in the opportunities they have got, both Rohit and Virat have put their hands up and shown that they are still the best batters for the opening and number 3 slots respectively.
Rohit, for instance, was the top run scorer during the Australia series last year and followed that good form going into the South Africa series. The batsman had a bit of a lean patch during the New Zealand series, where he managed just 61 runs.
A big hurdle for Rohit would be his age; the 38-year-old will turn 40 by the time the ODI World Cup takes place, and questions will surely be raised over his fitness.
