Ahead of the third ODI against England, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra predicted that Rohit Sharma will not retire. On Sunday, July 19, Lord's will host the last One-Day International (ODI) in the three-match series between India and England.
He did, however, hope that if it was the final game of the ex-India captain, he would score a century. Devajit Saikia, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), denied rumors that it was Rohit's final international match.
He pointed out that even if Rohit doesn't appear to be retiring, if this is his final game, he should score a hundred.
"I really hope that India wins, and I really hope that Rohit Sharma scores the runs this time around. Firstly, he is not going anywhere. The guy is not retiring. However, if the conversation goes in the direction where it's finalized and you tell Rohit that you are no longer continuing with him, I hope it's not. Still, if it were to be the last game, I want him to score a century," Chopra stated on his YouTube channel.
"Whenever he says goodbye to this format, he should leave with a lasting impression. That's my only small wish. It's probably the beauty of cricket that, despite playing so much cricket, being an absolute legend of a cricketer, and having a phenomenal international career, you reach a stage where the relevance of the match increases. You making runs becomes necessary," he added.
Rohit Sharma had missed the 2011 World Cup and led India to the final of the 2023 World Cup. The 39-year-old has repeatedly expressed a desire to play the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
According to Aakash Chopra, there is no need to worry about Rohit Sharma playing until the 2027 ODI World Cup.
"It's not an option. It's almost a mandate that you have to score runs now because the questions are becoming slightly louder. Are they necessary? I don't think so because we will play 40 ODIs in the next one-and-a-half years. What you have to do today, you can do that after 10 matches as well," he said.
Chopra emphasized that he is eager to observe the opener's strategy by adding that the 39-year-old will need to score runs due to the mood that has been created.
"However, an atmosphere like that has been created where you feel this is an important one. So, Rohit Sharma should score runs. He was extremely scratchy in the last match. He became slightly defensive as well in the first 10 overs. I will be very curious to see how he plays," Chopra concluded.
Sharma has not been in the best of form in ODIs in 2026, with only one fifty in the format. In the ongoing ODI series, Rohit has scored 11 runs off 21 balls in the first game and then took 47 balls to score 26 runs in the second ODI.
