CHENNAI: Of all the ways he could have gotten out, an attempted sweep against Will Jacks would be the last Rohit Sharma would have thought of when he walked out to bat in Cardiff on Thursday. The 39-year-old, who failed to put up a big score in the first ODI against England, once again, got out for a scratchy 26 off 47 balls. While dismissal does not say much about the former captain's batting, what happened before and after seemed to indicate that the door for the next ODI World Cup might be slowly closing down on him.
While no one could predict what comes next in sport, in the case of Rohit, the signs seem to be emerging for a while now. When Rohit fell for a 21-ball 11 in the first match, he seemed livid with himself. He had tried to go after Sam Curran but instead mis-timed it to the mid-off fielder. The reaction after, where he was cursing himself, showed his frustration as Rohit's search for a big score continued. He had scored a lone fifty against Afghanistan, in the final match, but before and after the 39-year-old seemed out of game-time.
Coming into the England series, pressure was mounting on Rohit to deliver. With Virat Kohli batting as fluently as he ever did, lack of big scores from the former captain, who will be 40 by the time the ODI WC comes along next year, was feeling the heat. In fact, it has been the case since he was removed as captain following the Champions Trophy triumph last year.
If there were any doubts about the pressure on him, his cautious approach early on told the story. For someone who imbibed the aggressive batting upfront, Rohit became patient in the powerplay reverting back to his pre-2022 template. Perhaps he felt that his place was in jeopardy with every failure. That head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar have officially remained non-committal so far about his future only added to it.
Between 2023 and 2025 Champions Trophy, Rohit redefined India's batting template. He averaged 67.4 in the powerplay phase while striking at 122.6 in this period. Since being removed as captain, the average has dropped down to 46.2 and more importantly, the SR is as low as 84.5. Though skipper Shubman Gill has thrown his weight behind the former captain and Kohli — Agarkar too has said that they should not be put under trial in every series — Rohit did not seem like himself on the field.
And it showed during the Afghanistan series as well as after his dismissal in the first ODI. If it was frustration in Edgbaston, with Rohit showing himself how he should have played Curran, on Thursday, when he walked back in Cardiff, Rohit's face wore helplessness. Almost as if he is not sure why things are not going his way and how long he can go on like that.
It is the kind of look Rohit wore during the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia where his Test career came to an end after he "dropped himself" for the final match following a string of poor scores and similar dismissals. At 39, with 15 more months to go for the ODI World Cup — the one white-ball trophy Rohit does not have — the former captain is looking like a shadow of himself more than ever before.
And it could be that the selectors — who have been ruthless with both white-ball teams — might take a call on his place in the team sooner than later. After the second ODI, Rohit will play next at Lord's. And he might even go on to get a big score as he did in the final ODI against Afghanistan. However, a big score in the last match of the series is not what the selectors expect of him. Instead, they would want Rohit to bat the way he used to in the past — aggressive enforcer who took down bowling attacks — from the first match and that does not seem to be happening for over six months now.
Only Rohit could decide when to call it time on what has been an illustrious career — 11731 runs at 48.67 average and 92.9 strike rate with 33 ODI centuries and 62 fifties. But come September, which is when India play West Indies in a home ODI series next, it remains to be seen if the selectors decide to move on from the 39-year-old. The signs are the there. The murmurs are growing. The next few days will tell more.
