Rohit Sharma, one of the greatest white-ball cricketers to have represented India, might be playing his last match for the country at the hallowed grounds of Lord’s. Multiple reports suggest that the third and deciding ODI in the three-match series between hosts England and India, could also be the end of the road for the 39-year-old cricketer.
‘The BCCI’s senior selection committee is learnt to have informed him that they have decided to move on from him after the England series,” a source told The Indian Express.
Will Selectors Make Their Move?
The bombshell development was first reported by The Indian Express, which revealed that chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir met with Rohit to outline India’s transition plans.
Quoting the source, the IE report said, “The selectors have informed Rohit that he does not figure in their scheme of things after the England tour and that they are moving on from him after this series. He wanted to continue, especially after working on his fitness. The selectors have left the ball in Sharma’s court.”
The report further added that while Rohit had worked extensively on his fitness and wished to push through to the next World Cup cycle, he was left unhappy with the decision.
Following his retirement from T20Is in June 2024 (immediately after winning the T20 World Cup) and Test cricket in May 2025, this probable ODI exit would mark the complete end of the road for the “Hitman” in Indian blue.
The Stats: A Legend’s Legacy
Even if his career comes to a close at Lord’s, Rohit Sharma’s statistical footprint in 50-over cricket is nothing short of historic. He leaves as one of only a handful of batsmen to have truly mastered the pacing of the modern ODI.
| Metric | Rohit Sharma’s ODI Career Statistics |
| Matches | 286 |
| Innings | 278 |
| Runs | 11,731 |
| Average | 48.00 |
| Strike Rate | 92.00 |
| Centuries (100s) | 37 |
| Half-Centuries (50s) | 62 |
| Highest Score | 264 vs Sri Lanka (All-time World Record) |
| Double Centuries (200s) | 3 (The only player in history to achieve this) |
The Great Unfulfilled Wish: The 50-Over World Cup
For all his accolades—his five IPL trophies, his T20 World Cup victory as captain in 2024, and his mountain of individual batting records—there is one gaping, agonizing hole in Rohit Sharma’s trophy cabinet.
He has never won an ODI World Cup.
The 50-over World Cup is the tournament Rohit has publicly and repeatedly admitted he treasures above all else. It has been his driving obsession.
- In 2011, he suffered the ultimate heartbreak of being dropped from the squad that went on to win the trophy on home soil.
- In 2019, he played the tournament of his life, scoring an unprecedented 5 centuries, only for India to crash out in a rain-affected semifinal against New Zealand.
- In 2023, as captain, he played selfless, devastating cricket at the top of the order, leading India to 10 consecutive wins, only to fall at the final hurdle to Australia in Ahmedabad.
With his ODI captaincy handed over to Shubman Gill last year and the selectors officially drawing the curtain on his selection post-England, Rohit’s dream of holding aloft the golden 50-over World Cup trophy will remain forever out of reach.
As he walks out to open the batting at Lord’s on Sunday, his recent scratchy form (11 at Edgbaston and a slow 26 in Cardiff) will be pushed to the back of his mind. Instead, he will look to summon the magic of the “Hitman” one last time, offering a billion fans a final, nostalgic glimpse of a legendary era of Indian batting.
