Sanjay Manjrekar says Champions Trophy could be Rohit Sharma’s last ICC tournament

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar believes the Champions Trophy could be Rohit Sharma’s last ICC tournament. Rohit retired from T20Is after leading India to glory in the T20 World Cup. The Indian captain has been performing consistently in the 50-over version but his form in the red-ball format has taken a massive dip.

Rohit could only manage 31 runs in three Test matches against Australia and thus decided to drop himself in the Sydney Test. On the other hand, Rohit recently scored a match-winning knock of 119 runs off just 90 balls in the second ODI against England at Cuttack.

Meanwhile, the next ODI World Cup and the Test Championship 2027 is two years away and Rohit is currently 37 years old.

Sanjay Manjrekar said on ESPN Cricinfo, “I have a feeling (that) if he has decided, I mean can Rohit Sharma be there for the 2027 Cricket World Cup? I don’t think so, very unlikely. So, then, this could be, what you are suggesting, could be the final tournament. I’m expecting Rohit Sharma to go out there and he should be actually liberated not so much by this being his sort of swansong or whatever, just by the fact that so much of quality batting to come (from him).”

Manjrekar reckons Rohit Sharma’s popularity grew after his selfless batting in the 2023 ODI World Cup. Rohit scored 597 runs in 11 matches of the ODI showpiece at a blistering strike rate of 125.95.

“2023 World Cup (in India) Rohit Sharma’s popularity soared. What they loved about Rohit Sharma is that they saw the captain was selfless, went out there… (he) could have got a hundred but (instead) gave a great flying start to the team and made things easier for the players coming after him,” Manjrekar said in the same interview.

India will next take on arch-rivals Pakistan at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Sunday.