Since the omission of the regular Test captain of India, Rohit Sharma, in the fifth of the five-match Test series of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), there is speculation if the veteran would be making a comeback in the Indian team across formats.
After the end of the series, India will be playing a five-match T20I series at home against England before they start their preparation for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to take place from the second week of February to the third week of March in Pakistan, through the three-match ODI series.
The blue brigade is the runners-up of the tournament, having lost to the Sarfaraz Ahmed-led side during the last final of the 2017 season at the Kennington Oval in South London. The Rohit Sharma-led side will not also make their trip to the other side of the border for the event due to security reasons, as they are going to play all of their games till being alive at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates.
Rohit Sharma confirmed to lead India in Champions Trophy 2025
Rohit Sharma wasn’t in great touch during the five-match red-ball series down under in the BGT 2024-25, having collected just 31 runs in five innings at an average of 6.20 with the best score of ten, which saw him getting omitted from the Pink Test on New Year, as the premier pacer of the side, Jasprit Bumrah, walked out to lead the troop.
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However, during the first break of the second day’s play of the SCG Test, the Nagpur-born eliminated all the media reports suggesting that he would bring the curtains down in his Test future.
“This decision is not a retirement decision. Nor am I going to take myself out of the game.” The 37-year-old expressed to the host broadcasters during the lunch break on the second day of the Sydney Test.
“I sat out of this match because runs are not coming off my bat. There is no guarantee runs won’t come five or two months down the line. I have seen a lot in cricket that life changes every second, every minute, every day.” The veteran batter informed during the discussion.
Rohit was in incredible touch at the opening position for India in last year’s ODI Word Cup 2024, when they finished as the runner-up. The opening batter ended that event as the second-highest scorer with the help of 597 runs in 11 innings at an average of 54.27 and a strike rate of 125.94 with the help of three half-centuries and one century at the best score of 131.
He also led the Blue Brigade to their second T20 World Cup title in July 2024 in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA), as he showed aggressive batting at the opening position of the department.
A few days ago, it was wondered if Hardik Pandya, the supreme all-rounder of the side, would be turning to replace Rohit as the new leader for India in the 50-over format, but that speculation seems to be erased.
“Rohit Sharma will Captain the side in the Champions Trophy without a % doubt.” Rohit Juglan, a journalist, has revealed on his ‘X’ account (formerly known as Twitter).
It will be incredibly important for the batter to be back in fine touch for the tournament. Otherwise, at 37, the career isn’t going to be extended from hereon.