BCCI breaks silence on Rohit Sharma retirement rumours, India vs England Lord's ODI won't be ex-captain's ‘last match’

The third ODI between India and England at Lord's on Sunday won't be Rohit Sharma's last in national colours, informed BCCI, quashing all the rumours on Friday. The development came to light when a report in Indian Express stated that the third and final game Lord's could be the last for Rohit as the BCCI has decided to move on and he is not in the board's scheme of things for the upcoming 2027 ODI World Cup in Africa.

The news of Rohit, which came in the middle of the India vs England 2nd ODI in Cardiff on Thursday, spread like a wildfire. In the report, it stated that the BCCI selectors, along with head coach Gautam Gambhir had a word about the same with Rohit a week back and the former India skipper is "unhappy".

However, a day later, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, dismissed such report. "There are lot of speculations going on in media about Rohit Sharma's future. I want to firmly assert that there has been no such discussion that Rohit will be playing his last match at Lord's on Sunday," Saikia told PTI.

"Rohit is a regular member of the Indian ODI team and he will continue to represent the country as long as he is in the scheme of things. In other words, Lord's ODI wont be his last match." Rohit is currently 13 games short of entering the 'Exclusive 300 ODI' club.

Despite Rohit's publicly stated desire to play until the 2027 ODI World Cup, his modest returns in the first two matches of the series -- scores of 11 and 26 -- have fuelled the debate. The three-match ODI series is tied 1-1.

It is understood that the BCCI top brass wasn't happy about how chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir looked at the issue. The BCCI secretary issued an official statement after a day long discussions involving all the stakeholders.

Even in his conversations with PTI, one of the bonafide white ball greats has always maintained that he is working hard only with the vision of representing the country in the 2027 marquee event after missing out on the silverware in 2023.

Sitanshu Kotak backs out-of-form Rohit Sharma

Meanwhile, India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has dismissed criticism of Rohit's form, insisting that the former India captain is neither under pressure nor enduring a slump despite his failure to come good in the second ODI against England.

With Rohit's modest returns inevitably coming under scrutiny, Kotak threw his weight behind the skipper. "I don't think a player of Rohit's calibre will come under any kind of pressure. He's too good a player to feel that," said Kotak during the post-match press conference.

"Yes, he didn't make runs in the two matches but I don't think that makes any difference. Today also, it looked like he'll probably get a good inning out. But that's okay," he replied when asked if someone like Yashasvi Jaiswal or Ishan Kishan could get a look-in for the opener's slot.

“So, I wouldn't use the word he was struggling but maybe the shots he normally plays on the up and all, which is because of the double bounce. Probably he felt it wasn't comfortable.”