Rohit Sharma Rises To No. 2 In ODI Rankings Despite Not Playing Since March. Here's Why

Despite frequent talks regarding his cricket future, India's ODI captain Rohit Sharma has risen one spot in the latest edition of the ICC ODI men's batting rankings, taking him to No. 2 spot in the list. Rohit claims second spot after former Pakistan captain Babar Azam lost rating points, following a poor series against West Indies. India's Test captain Shubman Gill retains the No. 1 spot in the ODI rankings, while stalwart Virat Kohli also keeps his position in fourth.

Rohit last played for India during the Champions Trophy 2025, where he captained the team to their second title. Rohit slammed 180 runs in five matches - the fourth-most for India - but boasted the highest strike-rate among India's top-order batters.

Babar made only 56 runs in the recently-concluded three-match ODI series against West Indies, as Pakistan lost the series 2-1. This has caused him to drop to third in the rankings.

India boast four batters in the top 10 and five in the top 15. Shreyas Iyer, India's highest run-scorer in the Champions Trophy 2025, is ranked eighth, while wicket-keeper batter KL Rahul is ranked 15th.

Following the India-England Test series, where Shubman Gill's men drew 2-2 away from home, several reports and rumours have emerged regarding the uncertainty of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's cricket future.

38 and 36 years old respectively, Rohit and Kohli are now active in only one format - ODI cricket. However, with India not playing many ODIs in the remainder of 2025, rumours have begun regarding the future of the two stalwarts.

Rohit announced after Champions Trophy 2025 that he does not intend to retire from ODI cricket, even sharing a moment with Kohli joking about it during the celebrations.

However, despite having eyes on the 2027 Cricket World Cup, Rohit and Kohli's spots are reportedly not a guarantee in the ODI setup. In fact, as per reports in recent days, the veteran duo will also have to turn up in domestic cricket as a metric for form and fitness.

On the other hand, whether Rohit will continue to be captain till the World Cup is also a topic of debate. With 25-year-old Shubman Gill impressing in England, Rohit isn't an automatic captaincy selection anymore.

However, the ODI rankings continue to reflect both Rohit and Kohli's continued prowess in the 50-over format.

Rohit and Kohli are next scheduled to be in action in October 2025, when India tour Australia for three ODIs.

Topics mentioned in this article

Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli Babar Azam Shubman Gill India Cricket Team Cricket