The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently broke silence on retirement rumours concerning veteran batsman Rohit Sharma. Some reports appeared to suggest that Sharma was considering retiring from ODIs after a poor batting spell for India during their UK tour. India’s cricket body has officially put the retirement talk to rest with a recent statement.
BCCI Secy Confirms No Retirement Plans for Sharma Just Yet
Devajit Saikia is the current BCCI Secretary. He released an official statement regarding unfounded Sharma retirement reports to quell rumours:
“There are lot of speculations going on in media about Rohit Sharma’s future. I want to firmly assert that there has been no such discussion that Rohit will be playing his last match at Lord’s on Sunday,” Saikia said.
“Rohit is a regular member of the Indian ODI team and he will continue to represent the country as long as he is in the scheme of things. In other words, Lord’s ODI won’t be his last match,” the BCCI secretary added.
Only Rohit Sharma Can Decide His Retirement, Mohammed Kaif Says
Retired Team India star Mohammed Kaif says Rohit Sharma holds the key to his impending retirement from international cricket:
“Rohit Sharma’s retirement will be decided by Rohit Sharma himself. He has the right. He has worked so hard for India. He has the right to retire of his own will. 12,000 runs, 34 centuries – till the time he was the captain, he never let India lose,” Kaif said.
Kaif hails Sharma’s resilience under pressure
Mohammed believes Kaif has been tough to crack under immense pressure from several quarters calling for his retirement:
“Not even today was anyone able to defeat India in white-ball cricket under his captaincy. What a captain he has been. Yet there is so much pressure on him, with people constantly saying, ‘Rohit Sharma, it’s time to retire.’ Under all that pressure, he became the highest run-scorer at Lord’s. No other Indian batter scored a century there in this match, it came from Rohit’s bat,” ex-player Kaif added.
Kaif urges Team India to support Sharma ahead of ODI World Cup 2027
Rohit has his sights set on a place at the ODI World Cup 2027. He and Virat Kohli believe they can offer high-level batting to India after excelling in red-ball cricket and T20Is for several years. Kaif believes offering support to Sharma at this time could get the best out of him ahead of that tournament:
“Imagine if Shubman Gill, as captain, publicly says, ‘Rohit bhai, I need you for the 2027 World Cup.’ Or if the BCCI clearly states that Rohit will play for India for as long as he wants and nobody should question him. That kind of support would make a huge difference,” he concluded.
Rohit Sharma ODI Records
| Rank | Record Category | Record | Value |
| 1st | Most Runs | Most runs in an innings | 264 |
| 1st | Most Runs | Most runs by batting position in an innings | 264 |
| 1st | Hundreds | Most hundreds in a series | 5 |
| 1st | Nineties | Most dismissals for 99 (99, 199, 299, etc.) | 99 |
| 1st | Boundaries | Most sixes in ODI career | 364 |
| 1st | Boundaries | Most fours in an innings | 33 |
| 1st | Boundaries | Most runs from fours and sixes in an innings | 186 |
| 2nd | Most Runs | Most runs in an innings by a captain | 208 |
| 2nd | Hundreds | Most hundreds in a calendar year | 7 |
| 2nd | Hundreds | Most hundreds against one team | 9 |
| 2nd | Hundreds | Hundreds in consecutive innings | 3 |
| 2nd | Boundaries | Most sixes in an innings | 16 |
| 2nd | Fastest Career Runs | Fastest to 10,000 ODI runs | 241 innings |
| 2nd | Fastest Career Runs | Fastest to 11,000 ODI runs | 261 innings |
| 3rd | Hundreds | Most centuries in ODI career | 33 |
| 3rd | Fastest Career Runs | Fastest to 9,000 ODI runs | 217 innings |
| 4th | Long Innings | Highest percentage of runs in a completed innings | 65.34% |
| 4th | Fastest Career Runs | Fastest to 8,000 ODI runs | 200 innings |
| 5th | Long Innings | Longest individual innings (balls faced) | 173 balls |
| 7th | Most Runs | Most runs in ODI career | 11,757 |
| 7th | Most Runs | Most runs in a series by a captain | 597 |
| 8th | Most Runs | Most runs in a match on the losing side | 171 |
| 8th | Hundreds | Oldest player to score an ODI hundred | 38y 178d |
| 8th | Fifties | Most fifties in ODI career | 95 |
| 8th | Fastest Career Runs | Fastest to 7,000 ODI runs | 181 innings |
| 8th | Individual | Longest ODI career | 19 years 23 days |
| 9th | Most Runs | Most runs in a calendar year | 1,490 |
| 12th | Most Runs | Progressive record holder for highest ODI score | 264 |
| 12th | Boundaries | Most fours in ODI career | 1,109 |
