The selectors have effectively left it to Rohit, who led India to the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup, to take a call on his future. It is understood that he has not yet communicated to the BCCI or the team management or the selectors whether he would retire after the final ODI of the England series which takes place at Lord’s on July 19.
India’s selectors are understood to have started conversations about Rohit’s future during IPL 2026. These discussions involved head coach Gautam Gambhir. Rohit had already become the oldest male cricketer to play an ODI for his country, surpassing Mohinder Amarnath during the Dharamsala fixture against Afghanistan in June. He made scores of 16, 48 and 79 in that three-match series.
His position in the team had attracted scrutiny in almost every bilateral series he has played since the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel replaced him with Gill as India’s ODI captain in October 2025, months after Rohit had led India to the Champions Trophy title in March. The questions became louder after the IPL, where Rohit struggled with fitness issues and scored 283 runs at an average of 35.37 and strike rate of 157.22. However, it had seemed like Rohit was in the running for the 2027 ODI World Cup in October-November, by which time he will be 40.
At the outset of the England ODI series, India captain Shubman Gill said both Rohit and Virat Kohli had been the “backbone” of India’s batting line-up: “The experience and the skill that they bring to the team is obviously very valuable. We have seen what they have done over the past decade in different conditions repetitively, consistently in number of matches, different tournaments, different occasions.”
