Ex-India Star Reveals Major Worry On Rohit Sharma After Captaincy Snub: "More Difficult To Drop A Captain"

Rohit Sharma's India future appears to be uncertain, with the 38-year-old now no longer the captain of his country in ODI cricket. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently made the bold call of naming Shubman Gill as India's ODI captain, bringing an end to Rohit's era at the helm. Former India cricketer and Rohit's former teammate Robin Uthappa has expressed concern that the captaincy change decision could have a negative impact on Rohit's aggressive style of batting as an opener in ODI cricket.

Rohit has led by example in ODIs, displaying an aggressive brand of cricket right from ball one. His intent and selflessness is backed up by numbers. In both the ODI World Cup 2023 and the Champions Trophy 2025, Rohit boasted the best strike-rate of any Indian batter in the top five.

However, Uthappa warned that removing Rohit from captaincy could see him adopt a more cautious approach.

"Rohit Sharma is someone who has upped the ante even in one-day cricket. Over the last three or four years, he has played at a much quicker clip, and I think that's been a transformation of sorts for him," Uthappa pointed out, speaking on The KimAppa Show.

"The shift in the way he (Rohit) approaches one-day cricket has changed. I think he has probably found a sweet spot with that. There are times I feel he doesn't need to be so aggressive. I think he was leading from the front and he wanted to do that.

"Now, he would probably be a little more circumspect because it would have been much more difficult to drop a captain versus now as a player. They (the selectors) have also said both these players will be picked on merit. So, I think they (Rohit and Virat Kohli) will be a little more cautious before being uber-aggressive," Uthappa said.

Rohit's final game as captain came in the Champions Trophy 2025 final, after which he announced that he didn't plan on retiring from ODIs.

However, with Rohit turning 40 by the time the ODI World Cup 2027 comes around, and him being active in only one format, many experts have pointed out the challenge he faces to maintain form and fitness.

Rohit does, however, appear to be putting in the hard yards from a fitness point-of-view. Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar recently shared on Instagram that Rohit has lost 10 kilograms of weight.

Rohit is set to return to India colours for the first time in seven months in the three-match ODI series against Australia, starting October 19.

Topics mentioned in this article

Rohit Sharma Robin Uthappa India Cricket Team Cricket