Questions over Rohit Sharma’s future continue to occupy the minds of fans, experts and all those connected with the game even as the India skipper took the team to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final, with a win against Australia on Tuesday. As India head coach Gautam Gambhir attended the press conference at the end of the match, he was asked about his honest opinion on how long Rohit can continue to play for the national team after the Champions Trophy concludes. Gambhir ducked the question, and instead, went on to praise the skipper for setting the right tempo from the start.
While Gambhir didn’t share much light on Rohit’s international future, he did confirm that it’s the Hitman’s ‘impact’ with which he is evaluated and not his ‘numbers’. While the head coach’s refusal to confirm Rohit’s future ahead of the Champions Trophy final is understood, the fact that he completely dodged the question could hint that something is already being planned.
Reporter: “Tell me about Rohit, the form he’s in, how much cricket do you think he’ll still play?”
“Look, the final of the Champions Trophy is now coming up. What can I say before that? If your captain bats with such a tempo, it just gives a very good signal to the dressing room that we want to be absolutely fearless and courageous. You evaluate from the runs; we evaluate from the impact. That’s the difference. You evaluate from the stats; we evaluate from the impact. As journalists, as experts, you only look at numbers, averages. But as a coach, as a team, we don’t look at numbers or averages. If the captain puts up his hand first, then there is nothing better than that for the dressing room,” Gambhir said in the post-match press conference.
Gambhir on Rohit Future Fabulous answer gazab jawab diya hai hum impact se judge karte naki averages se and yes Rohit will play Wc 2027 well said Gautam (Courtesy ICC) #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/CCODXUe6IO
— Imsajal45 (@Sajalsinha0264) March 4, 2025
In the match against Australia, Rohit shattered a massive record and etched his name in the record books by becoming the first captain in the history of cricket to reach the finals of all ICC tournaments. India’s momentous triumph over Australia in the Champions Trophy semi-final on Tuesday, made India the first side to reach the fifth Champions Trophy final, no other team has reached more than three.
Since Rohit took over full-time captaincy in February 2022, India has toppled several records. In a span of three years, India has entered the finals of every ICC tournament, making him the first skipper to achieve the feat. He has reached the finals of ICC T20 World Cup 2024, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, ICC World Test Championship 2023 and the ICC Champions Trophy, having won the T20 WC 2024 out of these.
In four matches in the tournament so far, Rohit has not failed to deliver those crucial runs in the powerplay and has continued playing the role of aggressor during the first ten overs to truly maximise on batter-friendly field conditions. In four matches, he has made 104 runs at an average of 26.00 and a strike rate of 107.21, with the best score of 41. During this match against Australia, he made 28 in 29 balls, with three fours and a six.
With ANI Inputs
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