Rohit Sharma may make himself available for Sri Lanka ODIs: Report
India's Test and one-day captain Rohit Sharma may make himself available for the three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka, according to reports. It was earlier stated that Rohit, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah could be rested for the tour of Sri Lanka, considering their workload.
Rohit and Kohli retired from T20Is after the 2024 T20 World Cup triumph in the West Indies. Bumrah thus remains among the few players who feature in all three formats for India.
Led by Shubman Gill, Team India sent a second-string side to Zimbabwe for a five-match T20I series in Harare. The Men in Blue's next assignment will be a tour of Sri Lanka, where they play three ODIs and three T20Is from July 27 to August 7.
According to Cricbuzz, Rohit might make himself available for the one-dayers as there are not many ODIs before the Champions Trophy next February-March.
The report added that the 37-year-old is on vacation in the US and is likely to communicate his decision to the BCCI before the selection meeting for the tour, which is expected to take place online on Thursday, July 18. If Rohit agrees to play the one-dayers, he's expected to be named the captain.
Bumrah and Kohli, though, are unlikely to be part of the one-day squad. Shreyas Iyer, who was highly impressive in the ODI World Cup at home last year, is also expected to return, as is keeper-batter KL Rahul. Meanwhile, all-rounder Hardik Pandya may skip the ODI games in Sri Lanka due to personal reasons.
The report further added that new head coach Gautam Gambhir held an online meeting with the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee and BCCI secretary Jay Shah on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, it's also being stated that Gambhir and Rohit are in favor of Suryakumar Yadav as the new T20I captain ahead of Pandya, who was the vice-captain during the T20 World Cup last month.
Rohit recently cleared the air on international future
Having announced his retirement from T20Is after the World Cup, questions were being asked over how long Rohit would continue in the other formats. The 37-year-old answered the query at an event in USA recently. In a video shared by journalist Vimal Kumar on X, the veteran batter said:
"I just said it. I don't do that far ahead. So clearly, you will be seeing me play for a while."
Rohit retired from T20Is as the leading run-getter in the format. In 159 matches, he smashed 4231 runs at a strike rate of 140.89, with five hundreds and 32 fifties.