Clock ticking for Rohit Sharma after losing ODI captaincy to Shubman Gill
There is something called shelf-life in sports. Quite often, athletes take it for granted their careers are going to continue forever and they can keep hogging the limelight. On Saturday, the BCCI once again showed the mirror to Rohit Sharma, stripping him of ODI captaincy. If his inclusion and that of Virat Kohli for the three ODIs in Australia is seen as a saving grace, that’s far removed from truth.
Rewind to last year, when India won the ICC T20 World Cup in the West Indies, Rohit, Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja had said that they were quitting international T20 cricket, though they will pay in the IPL. It made sense, as the players themselves had felt the next generation had to take over.
At the start of 2025, when India competed in the Champions Trophy in Dubai, again Rohit Sharma was the winning skipper. Surely, even at that time, the BCCI power corridors had started whispering what was the path ahead, preparing for the ICC ODI World Cup in 2027 was on their minds.
If that was accepted as normal, then the BCCI telling RoKo, as the duo are known – Rohit and Kohli – their Test careers were over and travelling to England was ruled out, it hit them hard. For those who think social media is a barometer for making predictions, that is wrong. Social media is a fan base of sorts, where Rohit and Kohli are admired. Deep down, the BCCI, often accused of poor planning, has been involved hands on.
It is not just one Ajit Agarkar who is singularly responsible for taking big decisions in Indian cricket. Not everything comes into open space as official communication. Surely, the BCCI will be emboldened by results achieved in the Test tour to England, where drawing the series was seen as huge. And that, too, minus the two stars. As for beating the lowly West Indies by a big margin on Saturday in Ahmedabad, it was sad cricket to watch.
Looking ahead, it is now more than clear, Indian cricket is looking at serious planning and how players need to be fit, motivated, and also not be seen as special. They have to be measured like the same junior players, who have to perform or perish. Enough chances have been given to the senior pros as well. Now, it is up to them to decide what they want to do. Again, it is not just about scoring runs. To be playing under a junior, Shubman Gill, minus ego, is not easy.
Is Indian cricket becoming ruthless? Yes, but for a good reason. During the course of a press conference in Mumbai on Saturday, Agarkar spoke a lot on Rohit Sharma. And yet, Agarkar did not reveal too much. “Even if he (Rohit Sharma) had not won the Champions Trophy, it would have been a difficult decision because of how good he's been for India. But you've got to sometimes look at what's coming forward. Where you stand as a team and eventually look at what's in the best interest of the team. Whether it's now or maybe six months later. Those are the calls that I suppose you have to make. Like I said, it's tough with one-day cricket at this point,” said Agarkar.
Agarkar will not tell the media how he, coach Gautam Gambhir and the new set of office bearers in the BCCI are planning for the future. In 2026, the T20 World Cup will be held and the ODI World Cup in 2027. There is a new team in place in the BCCI, where Mithun Manhas as President and Devjit Saikia as secretary are ready to plan the course ahead for Indian cricket. The super star culture is out, not like it was when a certain Sachin Tendulkar could decide how long he could play and even get for himself a farewell Test series against the West Indies in 2013.
Last but not the least, one should not be surprised if the two rock stars of ODI cricket, Kohli and Rohit Sharma themselves pack up! They will want to go out with honour and dignity. And they deserve it for sure, having rendered yeoman service. No need to talk of runs scored and centuries notched up.
