Rohit Sharma Set To Make Surprising Return, Likely To Play For India A Against...

Rohit Sharma may play in the unofficial ODI series between India A and Australia A in September-October in order to prepare for the Australia tour, according to a report by RevSportz. Rohit has not played any games for India since the Champions Trophy in March. He has also not played any cricket since the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 but the India ODI captain has already started practicing for the Australia series. The report claimed that Rohit has expressed his desire to play for India A but nothing official has been confirmed. The three unofficial ODIs are scheduled on September 30, October 3 and 5. 

Meanwhile, former cricketer Mohammad Kaif believes that the 2027 ODI World Cup will be India's ODI captain Rohit Sharma's swansong. He expects that after Rohit's last dance, the management will pass the baton to Shubman Gill.

Gill's rise in the captaincy pecking order has been nothing short of a fairytale story. After the Border-Gavaskar Trophy turned out to be Rohit's last Test assignment, Gill was handed the mantle and led India to a memorable 2-2 draw in the exacting series in England.

After a fabled run with the bat that saw him rack up 754 runs, Gill was promoted to T20I skipper Surakumar Yadav's deputy for next month's Asia Cup. Amid Gill's rise, there have been speculations about Rohit's future, considering he has announced his exit from the T20I and Test formats.

While citing Gill's prolific run in the cash-rich IPL, Kaif expects him to emerge as an all-format captain and said on his YouTube channel, "In the last three years, Gill has scored 2,000 runs. He is the future captain. He is the Test captain, and in T20Is, he is the vice-captain. Rohit is the ODI captain. He is almost 38 and I believe will retire after the 2027 ODI World Cup. When he steps away, Gill will become the captain."

Gill was a notable absentee in India's T20 World Cup-winning squad last year but was sent on the assignment to lead India for the five fixtures against Zimbabwe.

After the conclusion of the series, Gill was shifted primarily towards ODIs and Tests as T20 took a step back in his career trajectory. After being announced as the vice-captain, Gill will feature in his first T20I competition since July 2024.

(With ANI inputs)

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