Rohit Sharma's World Cup 2027 Dreams in Jeopardy Amid BCCI Leadership Changes

Rohit Sharma's Future in ODIs Uncertain

Rohit Sharma's ambition to participate in the 2027 World Cup may be at risk as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) considers significant changes in the One Day International (ODI) format. After stepping down from T20 internationals post the last T20 World Cup, Rohit has now done the same ahead of the upcoming series against England. His focus is on the South Africa tournament, but his opportunity to play may be limited.

As reported by a leading news outlet, the BCCI had anticipated that Rohit would retire from all formats after his exit from Test cricket. However, the 38-year-old surprised many by expressing his desire to continue in ODIs, aiming for the 2027 World Cup. Rohit successfully led the Indian team to the finals in 2023, narrowly missing out on victory, and also secured wins in the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy in 2025.

Despite his achievements, the BCCI seems hesitant to allow Rohit to continue in his role. The report indicates that there are currently no discussions regarding his future, but chief selector Ajit Agarkar is expected to oversee a transition in leadership.

Insights from a BCCI Source

“Honestly, many of us believed Rohit would step back from ODIs after winning the Champions Trophy. There have been no conversations between Rohit and the selectors about his ODI future,”

India has a total of 27 ODIs scheduled before the 2027 World Cup, providing ample opportunity to identify and develop a successor. Notably, MS Dhoni had previously chosen Virat Kohli as his successor ahead of the 2017 Champions Trophy, where Kohli captained the team during the 2019 World Cup with Dhoni still playing.

While Rohit may continue to play, the captaincy could potentially shift to Shreyas Iyer. A similar scenario unfolded at the Mumbai Indians when Hardik Pandya took over as captain from Rohit. Iyer, who has led three IPL teams to the finals and secured a victory in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, is now in the running for the captaincy of the national team.

“Currently, he is only playing ODIs, but after this IPL, we cannot exclude him from T20 internationals or even Tests. Moreover, he has officially entered the race for white-ball captaincy,”