CHENNAI: Amidst the ongoing speculation about his future with the Indian team, former captain Rohit Sharma has said that October 2027 is still far away when asked about him playing the next ODI World Cup.
The one-line answer comes at a time when there is no clarity on whether the 39-year-old will be a part of the ODI team for the upcoming West Indies series. Rohit, who plays only the 50-over format, made his intentions clear about playing the World Cup next year in the past.
However, when asked about his participation by an audience at the Global Fintech Fest, Rohit said: "October 2027 is far away, we will see about it then." The 2027 ODI World Cup is to be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Over the last year and a half, Rohit's future with the team has been a question of debate. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir have remained non-committal about the former captain's place in the ODI World Cup team as well. Rohit, however, has remained firm on his intentions to play until now.
Earlier in England, speculations were rife about Rohit retiring at Lord's but the former captain scored a century and BCCI secretarty Devajit Saikia put it to rest. "He is playing superbly in all matches. So what more do you want? In the last match (against England), he scored 138 runs, so why is there speculation? I do not want to give some fodder for the speculators," Saikia told reporters after the BCCI's review meeting here at its headquarters some days ago.
Now, it remains to be seen whether the selection committee will pick Rohit for the West Indies ODIs to be played later this month.