Rohit Sharma confirms Australian farewell after 50th international hundred in Sydney; 'one last time, signing off from…'

Rohit Sharma confirmed his last international match in Indian jersey on Australian soil with a social media post that went viral on social media. Although India lost the ODI series 1-2, the series ended on a winning note for India and especially for Rohit Sharma, who notched up his 50th international hundred - 33rd in ODIs.

Having already retired from Tests and T20Is and no cricket for more than four months, there were question marks on Rohit on whether he should call time on his international career. But Rohit once again reminded everyone that he is looking ahead to the 2027 ODI World Cup, with a 73 (in Adelaide) and 121 not out (in Sydney) in the final two games of the series.

With a lean look (having reduced more than 10kgs), it was vintage Rohit on display at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday. The 38-year-old smashed the Australian bowling attack including the likes of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Ellis and others to finish the game alongside Virat Kohli, with more than 10 overs to play.

While some of the members stayed back for the T20I leg, starting on October 29, the likes of Rohit, Virat, KL Rahul, etc took their flight back home on Sunday. Before boarding the flight, Rohit posted a picture from the departure terminal at the Sydney airport, with a caption “One last time, signing off from Sydney.”

Thank You Australia: Rohit Sharma

Earlier on Saturday, Rohit spoke about his love for playing in Australia since his debut back in 2006. He also recalled his first tour of Australia in 2008. “I have always loved coming here, and enjoyed playing cricket at this venue (in Sydney). Brought back nice memories of 2008 (his first tour of Australia), it was fun, don't know if we're going to come back (as cricketers), but I've enjoyed every bit,” Rohit had said after the 3rd ODI.

“We've enjoyed playing cricket regardless of all the accolades over the years. Forget about what happened in the last 15 years, I've always loved playing here, I think it'll be the same for Virat as well. Thank you Australia,” added the former Indian skipper.

Rohit Sharma's ODI record in Australia

The right-hander has one of the best records for an Indian batter in Australia in ODIs. In 22 matches, Rohit has scored 1192 runs at an average of 62.73, including six hundreds, the last of which came in Sydney. In fact, Rohit is the first Indian batter to score more than 1000 runs on Australian soil. His best of 171 not out on Australian soil came in Perth in 2016.

While five of his hundreds came against Australia, Rohit scored another against Bangladesh during the 2015 ODI World Cup.