Rohit Sharma has made a name for himself as one of India’s finest opening batsmen in ODIs, but there are doubts about his possible participation in the 2027 ODI World Cup team.
He holds the record for most centuries in an edition of the World Cup, when he smashed five tons in the 2019 edition. He is the only batter with three double centuries in ODIs and has the highest score in the format. However, the next three points explain why Rohit Sharma is not the best choice for the 2027 ODI World Cup team.
Here are the 3 reasons why Rohit Sharma shouldn’t play in the 2027 ODI World Cup:
3. Age is slowing his reflexes
Rohit Sharma was born in April 1987, and this means he’ll be approaching 41 years of age when the ICC World Cup 2027 begins in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. Though Rohit Sharma has made a tremendous transition in fitness and looks, age has visibly slowed down his reflexes when it comes to batting. Being an opener means needing quick reactions to pace and bounce, but the question remains whether Rohit Sharma would be able to do so in 2027.
2. Patchy form
Rohit Sharma has played 10 ODIs in 2026, scoring 411 runs with a strike rate of 98.56 with one century and one fifty. He has continuously failed in the first few ODIs of a series, only to hit a big knock in the third one to retain his spot, an example being his 138 against England in Lord’s ODI. Rohit Sharma is being backed by BCCI, despite selectors wanting to move on from him due to patchy form, and if he continues this dismal consistency, India might have to pay a heavy price in the 2027 World Cup.
1. Limited opportunities for younger openers
Rohit Sharma has, on multiple occasions, shown willingness to play for the 2027 World Cup and win it for the Indian team. The 50-over World Cup remains the only ICC white-ball title missing from his cabinet, and Rohit wants to badly win. However, at the same time, he is blocking the opportunities for other openers like Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Especially Jaiswal, who has done well in the six ODIs he has played and should ideally be the best choice for opening slot with Shubman Gill.
