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India national cricket team is up against Afghanistan national cricket team in the first ODI of the three-match ODI series at the HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala. Rohit Sharma, who has been the mainstay of the Indian team for the last several years, made a record as soon as he entered the match against Afghanistan on Saturday.
Rohit Sharma holds the long-standing record as the oldest Indian to play in ODI cricket, surpassing former India World Cup winner Mohinder Amarnath, who last represented India in an ODI at the age of 39, with the former now taking the field at the age of 39 on Saturday. This is a historic milestone for the opening batsman.
Rohit Sharma added a new milestone to his name
Mohinder Amarnath was 39 years and 36 days old when he played his final ODI against West Indies on 30 October 1989 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. On June 13, 2026, Rohit took the field against Afghanistan at the age of 39 years and 44 days, adding another accolade to his long career as a cricketer.
Rohit now tops the list for India, but he is still a long way from breaking the overall ODI age record. That honor goes to former Netherlands batsman Nolan Clarke, who set a standard that remained unmatched for three decades. When Clarke played for the Netherlands against South Africa in Rawalpindi on 5 March 1996, he was 47 years and 257 days old.
Rohit was looking tough in the nets
Rohit Sharma has been declared fit despite suffering a hamstring injury during the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. He joined the COE and underwent his rehabilitation before passing the test and joining the Men in Blue team for the current series. The former India captain was seen having a long discussion with India’s strength and conditioning coach Adrian Le Roux on Thursday.
The 39-year-old opening batsman looked good in the nets initially before finding his rhythm. This is an important match for the opener, as he had a poor series against New Zealand in the initial phase of this year, but last year he had a great series against Australia and South Africa, as he was the player of the series in Australia.
Rohit Sharma is moving towards achieving new achievements
Rohit has returned to the Men in Blue team after six months. This is a preparation series before India tour England for another three-match ODI series. The Men in Blue will play around 25 ODI matches before leaving for the 2027 ODI World Cup, which is scheduled to begin on October 4 in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Rohit Sharma is just six runs away from becoming the first Indian opener to score 16,000 international runs. He will surpass the great Sachin Tendulkar and is just one century away from achieving the feat of most centuries as an opening batsman for India. He is currently on par with Sachin with 45 centuries.
india vs afghanistan playing eleven
Afghanistan (Playing XI): Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (w), Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Umarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Salim Safi, AM Ghazanfar, Zia ur Rehman Sharifi.
India (Playing XI): Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna
