- By Himanshu Badola
- Wed, 22 Nov 2023 10:34 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain was left heartbroken with other teammates after they missed out on the third World Cup title with a defeat against Australia in the final on Sunday, November.
The Men in Blue lost the final of the ODI World Cup 2023 against Australia by six wickets, falling short of the chance to lift the trophy for the second time in front of the home crowd.
Despite playing some incredible cricket for his team up the order and leading the team to 10 consecutive wins, Rohit just couldn't get to his maiden ODI WC triumph.
Rohit, who was expected to be featured in his last World Cup, played like one as he smashed loads of runs to help his team put in dominating performances throughout the tournament.
ALSO READ: Argentina Beat Brazil 1-0 In FIFA WC 2026 Qualifier
The Men in Blue were spectacular in the league stage as they won all of their nine matches almost one-sidedly and became the first side to make it to the semi-finals.
In the semi-final, they got the better of New Zealand to qualify for their fourth World Cup final.
The 36-year-old's white-ball future is now yet to be decided as BCCI aims to sit down and make a pathway for the same.
Rohit might not be in the scheme of things in the next edition of the World Cup as he will be 40 then but a shot at the Champions Trophy in 2025 could be a possibility.
BCCI along with captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar will be sitting down soon to decide his future across formats, especially in the ODIs and T20Is.
As per a report from Times of India, Rohit has already communicated to the selectors that he is fine being away from the T20I setup as of now.
While selectors are focussing on keeping youngsters on board for the shortest format of the game, it will be interesting to see where Rohit's ODI future lies in the coming months.
With no chance for him to make it to the next WC in 2027, the Champions Trophy could be the next challenge he might prepare for which is scheduled to be held in Pakistan in 2025.
It is to be noted that the Indian team only has six ODI matches to play in the next one year.
"Before the ODI World Cup, Rohit had communicated that he is fine not being considered for T20Is. The selectors have been investing heavily in youth in T20Is for the last one year. With the T20 World Cup happening in June next year, they are reluctant to deviate from that strategy,” her for a longer period of time. With Shreyas Iyer coming back into Test reckoning and Shubman Gill batting at No. 3, there is little scope for Rahane. KL Rahul too could be considered for the Test matches as he could be a backup wicketkeeping option," TOI quoted a source as saying.
India will play three ODI matches on the South Africa tour next month before they play a Test series.
The board and the selectors are expected to start planning on the ODI future post IPL and T20 World Cup next year with the major challenge lying upon to pick a long-term captain,
"As of now, it seems Rohit will be focusing a lot of his energy on the Test format for the next cycle of the World Test Championship which runs till 2025. Grooming a captain for the longer formats is a key part of the agenda. Hardik Pandya prone to injuries, selectors may look for options in ODIs," the source claimed.
Rohit had a remarkable outing in the recently concluded World Cup as he gave his all sweat and blood aiming for the World Cup glory.
He set the tournament on fire with the bat and ended up as the second-highest run-getter behind teammate Virat Kohli.
The star batter was consistent in giving his team fiery starts and scored 597 runs in 11 matches at an average of 54.27 and a strike rate of 125.95.
He smashed three fifties and a century in the tournament on the back of 66 fours and 31 sixes.
Talking about his World Cup career, Rohit missed out on the selection for the 2011 edition at home which the MS Dhoni-led Indian team ended up winning.
ALSO READ: Ben Stokes' 'Gritted Teeth' Congratulatory Post On Australia's World Cup Triumph Goes Viral
He played his maiden World Cup in 2015 where he scored 330 runs in eight matches at an average of 47.14 and a strike rate of 91.67 before India were knocked out by the hosts Australia in the semis.
Rohit had a spectacular 2019 World Cup in England as he ended up as the leading run scorer with 648 runs to his name in nine matches at an average of 81 and a strike rate of 98.33.
He smashed several records throughout the tournament including the one to score the most centuries by a player in a single edition of the World Cup as he ended up scoring five.