Gautam Gambhir, former teammate of India national cricket team coach Robin Uthappa, has supported the Ajit Agkar-led selection committee’s decision to sack Rohit Sharma as ODI captain.
Robin Uthappa also issued a reminder about the things that made life difficult for the Indian team on the tour of Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
In all honesty, he’s going to be 41 when the World Cup comes around. Correct? – Robin Uthappa on Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma has been stripped of ODI captaincy ahead of the Australia tour, ending his illustrious leadership career in international cricket.
In 2024, he resigned himself to captaincy by retiring from the T20I format post-T20 World Cup win, and he stepped down as Test captain and retired from the format ahead of the Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy 2025.
His test retirement came after India’s loss in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 and there was a lot of drama around it. Notably, Rohit Sharma skipped the Test series opener to be with his family after the birth of his son, and upon his return, he displayed a terrific batting performance.
In five innings, Rohit Sharma scored just 31 runs and was picked out of the fifth Test in Sydney, handing the captaincy back to Jasprit Bumrah, who guided India to victory in the 1st Test. However, India ended up losing the series 1–3.
Meanwhile, speaking on his YouTube channel, Robin Uthappa said that India would like to avoid a repeat of BGT; Therefore, handing over the leadership to Shubman Gill was the right call. He said:
“He’s going to be, in all honesty, 41, when that World Cup comes around. Right? So, you keep that in mind as well. And for all intentional purposes, I think it has to do with making decisions when the stakes are lower rather than when the stakes are higher, you don’t want what happened in Australia.
“To be with Rohit Sharma, he is very good for a player to have something like that again. So, maybe to avoid all that stuff. Maybe, I don’t know… You don’t want that kind of uncomfortable situation, and if he keeps himself fit, there is no question. You know Rohit and Virat will be a part of that side.”
They know how they get their runs and how they perform well – Robin Uthappa
Robin Uthappa further backed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to continue their heroics in 50-over cricket but warned about slowing down their reflexes. He said:
“Yeah, I think so. I think they’re doing as well as they have… So far, they’ve played exceptionally well. So, I think they’ll continue to perform well… They know how they get their runs and how they execute well, and they’ll stick to their set template that works for them, and I think they’ll continue to do that.
“I don’t see that meaning as dipping, but it’s just about reflexes and that works, and how those things work because right now, they’re not playing a lot of cricket. The only cricket they find themselves playing is probably IPL and one-day cricket, and maybe some domestic one-day games coming in.”
If he stays fit, I think he will be a part of the next World Cup – Robin Uthappa
Predicting Rohit Sharma’s ODI future, Robin Uthappa said that the modern-day batting great can only book a place in India’s ODI squad for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 if he works really hard on his body and maintains top-level fitness. He said:
“If he stays fit, I think he’ll be a part of the next World Cup, because, as I said at the beginning of the pod, I think his template for success in ODI cricket is clear to him. He knows what works for him… However, Rohit Sharma has worked on a day in and day out as well, and I think that’s kind of him.”
“Ideally, how he scored all his runs in OD cricket, his first fifty would take around 60-75 balls, and then the next fifty would take much less, and then the next fifty would take much less… the shift in which he has turned into one day cricket, and I think he has probably found a sweet spot on that,” he said.
Also read: Dilip Vengsarkar indirectly orders Ajit Agkar to drop Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma from ODIs
