Former BCCI selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth had to apologise to Rohit Sharma, the 1983 World Cup-winning Indian cricketer had revealed recently. Srikkanth served as the BCCI Chief Selector from September 2008 to September 2012. During his tenure, the Indian team lifted the 2011 ODI World Cup, after a long wait of 28 years at n Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.
Having made his India debut in 2007, Rohit had established himself as one of the pillars in the Indian ODI batting lineup in the middle order. Till the 2011 ODI World Cup, Rohit had played 61 ODIs for India, scoring 1248 runs, including two hundreds. Despite his experience, Rohit was snubbed from the World Cup squad, for which Srikkanth apologized to the right hander later.
Shedding light on why Rohit was not picked in the Indian side for the 2011 ODI World Cup, Srikkanth revealed that the selection committee preferred an all-rounder-heavy group, with several bowling options. “Poor fellow, he missed it," Srikkanth was quoted as saying to The Week.
“I feel bad for him even today. I told Rohit one day, in 2020… I’m sorry, boss. It’s not on purpose, but it’s just that we wanted to take those half all-rounders. And you see, end of the day, who was the man of the tournament? Yuvraj Singh – bowling and batting… In this half all-rounder concept, Rohit Sharma, poor fellow, he could not find a place," added Srikkanth.
In fact, by 2011 Rohit has established himself a part-time finger off-spinner and also had an Indian Premier League (IPL) hattrick to his name. However, a serious finger injury limited his bowling ability for the rest of his career.
2011 regret still drives Rohit Sharma
15 years down the line, Rohit is regarded as the most accomplished Indian captain after MS Dhoni with two ICC trophies to his name as an Indian captain. Under Rohit, India won the T20 World Cup in 2024 and the ICC Champions Trophy a year later. He could have matched Dhoni, had the Men in Blue not lost to Australia in the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup.
It must be noted that Rohit's career flourished when he was promoted up the order as an opener in 2013 across formats. Since then there was no looking for the Mumbai batter. The regret of missing a spot in the 2011 ODI World Cup squad drove Rohit as he was India's one of the best batters in 2015 edition, followed by a top run-getter finish in 2019.
In fact, Rohit scored a record five hundreds in the 2019 ODI World Cup in England. However, India lost to New Zealand in the semifinal. With the 2027 ODI World Cup in horizon, Rohit has quit Tests and T20Is for India.
