Rohit Sharma's 'Hunger' Questioned After Flop Show vs New Zealand: "2027 World Cup Too Far?"

India's veteran batter Rohit Sharma has been experiencing a dip in his batting form. Having retired from T20Is and Tests, ODIs is the only format that Rohit is active in as an international player. He was named the Player of the Series during India's three ODIs against Australia last year, but failed to continue that form against South Africa and New Zealand. While Rohit fared decently vs the Proteas with 146 runs in three matches, he could manage just 61 in three games vs the Black Caps.

Rohit fell for 11 runs off 13 balls in India's series-deciding third ODI against New Zealand, prompting former Kiwi star Simon Doull to question the veteran player's hunger.

"I feel with Rohit, he's always had something to chase, as in a goal in mind, whether it be a T20 World Cup, whether it be a 50-over World Cup. I just wonder, that 27 World Cup in South Africa, is that too far away? Does he have that real hunger? Maybe it's just, I mean, it's different every year, isn't it? Because we're building up. We seem to be building up as national sides, no matter who you are. Each year, you're building up to a different format of an ICC event, aren't you?" asked Doull during commentary on Star Sports Network.

"The last little while and coming up for the next two weeks, we're building up to a T20 World Cup. So there's very little one-day cricket played in the last four months and in the next three or four months. Next year, I'm guessing, or later this year and going into next year, there'll be an absolute diet of 50-over cricket. When you're only playing one format, you don't get huge amounts of opportunities. The next time he's in the Indian uniform will be, what, July in the UK? It's a long way away," he pointed out.

While it was a poor series for Rohit Sharma against New Zealand, Virat Kohli emerged as India's top scorer with 240 runs across three matches at an average of 80. He scored a century in the series-deciding ODI, albeit in a losing cause.

Topics mentioned in this article

Cricket India Cricket Team New Zealand Cricket Team India vs New Zealand 2026 Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli Simon Blair Doull