India legend Rohit Sharma has batted away rumours about a possible international retirement. The 39-year-old told bcci.tv after the England game that his job was to represent his country and play. The noise around the sport has been there since his debut, Rohit said, and rumours don’t affect him. The media’s job was “outside”, while his work was done “inside”. Rohit remained focused on contributing on the field.
He did exactly that against England, scoring 138 and his 34th ODI hundred. Rohit could not prevent India losing 2-1 in the series after their 4-0 T20 loss. According to odds on platforms like Puntit, India were overwhelming favourites to beat Zimbabwe in a Twenty20 international a few days after the England game. Rohit stopped playing T20 matches for India in 2024, but captain Shubman Gill said that Rohit had given no indication that he was planning a full international retirement. The latter has amassed almost 12,000 runs in 288 ODI matches. Rohit will turn 40 in April.
Where does Rohit rank among India greats?
If Rohit isn’t the greatest India have ever produced, he’s near the top of the list. Some have criticised his overseas record, including his poor scores in tours of South Africa. Rohit is particularly successful in India but if there is one thing holding him back from being universally accepted as the country’s all-time best, it might be his relatively poorer record elsewhere.
Two years ago, fans were already wondering whether Rohit was India’s greatest ever cricketer. He had already played over 100 matches as captain. He learned discipline from Adam Gilchrist, and learned tactical knowledge and calmness from MS Dhoni. He played under Virat Kohli for a few years; Kohli’s ability to force mistakes from his opponents can teach any batsman lessons.
Rohit has been called one of the sport’s most aesthetically pleasing batters, also capable of hitting giant sixes. He has smashed various records throughout his career: the most sixes in international cricket, the most in ODIs and the second most in T20Is, the most centuries in ICC events, and the most fours in an ODI innings – Rohit hit 33 boundaries against Sri Lanka in 2014.
The numbers have kept adding up. Even four years ago, Rohit could have retired and been considered one of the greatest: he’d got the first ever overseas hundred in a test, completed thousands of international runs, and made 3,000 test runs. He may be India’s best ever opener in Tests. Earlier in his cricket, some claimed he was just a one-day batsman, or only suited to T20s. Since, Rohit has undeniably been successful in all formats.
Rohit’s centuries
Rohit has hit a total of 10 centuries against Australia (who he achieved his 50th international century against), eight against each of England and Sri Lanka, seven against each of West Indies and South Africa, and a further 10 against other nations. Most of those have come in ODIs but his record also includes five centuries in T20Is.
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