As Rohit Sharma trudged back to the pavilion after another rusty knock of 26 off 47 balls in the second ODI against England in Cardiff on Thursday, he may have run out of time in his international career. TOI understands that the selection committee has decided that he will not be the first-choice opener after the series which finishes with the third ODI at Lord’s on Sunday. As things stand now, the match on Sunday could be the 39-year-old’s last match for India.India were bowled out for 233 with Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer scoring fluent 65 and 66 respectively as the English pacers again exploited the Indian batting’s struggles with the bouncing deliveries. On Tuesday, TOI had reported that the team management and selectors want to give younger players like Yashasvi Jaiswal a longer rope to be get ready for the ODI World Cup in South Africa in Oct-Nov 2027 and that Rohit was unlikely to get a full run if his form wasn’t up to mark in this series.It is learnt that the team management and selectors wanted to give Jaiswal a full series in England but stuck with Rohit to give him another chance to rediscover his fluency. Sources say that the selection committee and the team management have conveyed their views about Rohit to the Indian cricket board (BCCI). It will be interesting to see if the power centres in the board speak to Rohit or the selectors have a word with him.“The selectors had made up their minds to drop him after the ODI series against Afghanistan at home last month. Rohit also declined to rest for the third ODI in Chennai to give Jaiswal a look in. Eventually, captain Shubman Gill had to bat at No. 3 to accommodate Jaiswal,” a BCCI source told TOI.The team management has not been pleased with Rohit’s performances since replacing him with Gill as the ODI captain after the victorious Champions Trophy campaign in March 2025. TOI had reported on May 19, before the team for the Afghanistan series was picked, that BCCI was apprised about the doubts selectors and team management have about Rohit’s fitness and that they were unsure he could last till the World Cup when he will be well above 40 years of age.Rohit’s approach to batting completely changed after the Champions Trophy. He has been sedate and ultra-cautious in his approach. The management feels that he requires three games to get going in a series. “It was always going to be a challenge for Rohit since he retired from the other two formats. He also plays very little domestic cricket. He turned up for two Vijay Hazare Trophy matches last season, one of which was against Sikkim. He needs more time to find his rhythm. The selectors have conveyed their opinion. Now, it’s up to Rohit and the board to decide how they want to go ahead with it,” the source added.
