The last few months have been tough on the regular Indian captain of the longest format, Rohit Sharma, who struggled at home in the three-match series against New Zealand with the help of 93 runs in six innings at an average of 15.50 with the help of one half-century that came during the second innings of the Bengaluru Test.
Rohit Sharma missed the opening game of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 at the Optus Stadium, they went on to win by 295 runs under the leadership of their premier pacer, Jasprit Bumrah. Despite his arrival, the right-handed batter couldn’t score the runs he was expected to.
The 161-run opening stand between KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal forced the Mumbai batter to get demoted in the middle order for the second day-night pink-ball affair at the Adelaide Oval and the third Test at the Gabba in Brisbane. But, with the lack of scores, he went back to the opening position during the fourth Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
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Rohit Sharma finished the trip down under with the help of 190 runs in nine innings at an average of 23.75, shouldering on the best score of ten. His struggle against his opposite number, Pat Cummins, was visible. He was playing the wrong line for the entire series.
Rohit Sharma is to play till the 2027 ODI World Cup and WTC 2025-27
The right-handed experienced batter could nail 619 runs in the five-day format in 26 innings at an average of 24.76 and a strike rate of 63.03 with the help of two centuries and as many half-centuries at the best score of 131 runs.
The question has been raised if Rohit Sharma deserves a place in the Indian squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. While few reckoned that the veteran should be stretched into the form of the game that suits him the most, a few have called for a smooth transition.
The Mumbai batter was in decent touch in three ODIs for the blue brigade in the previous year in Sri Lanka, where he punched 157 runs in three innings at an average of 52.33 and a strike rate of 141.44 with the help of two half-centuries at the best score of 64. The year before that, in 2023, he clubbed 1255 ODI runs in 26 innings at an average of 52.29 and a strike rate of 117.07 thanks to nine half-centuries and two centuries.
Out of these, Rohit Sharma showed a different and aggressive version in the 2023 ODI World Cup at home, having recorded 597 runs in 11 innings to be the second leading run-getter of the tournament 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.
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Recent reports have claimed that Rohit Sharma would keep on playing till 2027. which means he would be part of the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, where the opening batter has never enjoyed batting with the help of just 256 runs in 13 innings at an average of under 20 and a strike rate of 68.45 with one century on his name.
He is also expected to be part of the fourth cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27, which will start with the five-match series against England away from home before they host West Indies and South Africa. It will be interesting to see his performance in England if selected.