Legendary Sunil Gavaskar has revealed he would like Rohit Sharma to have more ODI centuries than his age before he decides to announce his retirement. The ODI World Cup 2027 is expected to be Rohit’s final tournament in his glorious career.
Rohit missed a chance to score his 36th ODI century when he was dismissed after scoring 92 runs off 85 balls in the third game against the West Indies at New Chandigarh on Saturday. Earlier in the series, Rohit scored his 35th ODI hundred when he scored 101 runs off 75 balls in the second game of the series.
Sunil Gavaskar said on JioStar, “The reason I was disappointed with Rohit getting out on 92 is that he didn’t get a hundred, and he might possibly quit international cricket after the end of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027. And at that particular point in time, when he decides to call it a day, I personally would like Rohit to have more ODI hundreds than his age.”
“Had he gotten a century in the third ODI, he would have moved closer to achieving that feat with his 36th hundred. For me, it’s a special thing when a player’s hundreds outnumber his age at retirement. It shows the kind of career they have had and the standard they have maintained for so many years. That is why I really want Rohit to reach that mark.”
The former Indian skipper highlighted that Rohit has slightly changed his batting template as he is playing with a cautious approach as compared to the 2023 ODI World Cup, where he was trying to take the attack to the bowlers from the get-go.
“A slight change has appeared in the batting template that Rohit himself set as the captain for the 2023 ODI World Cup, where he was going bang-bang from the first ball, irrespective of the possibility of getting out early. Now he recognises that his wicket is valuable. In that 2023 World Cup, he got the team off to great starts, but he’s not a batsman who will score just 30-40 runs. He’s a hundred-maker! And therefore, I’m happy to see him score big runs,” said Gavaskar (via the aforementioned source).
Rohit will be next seen in action in the ODI series against New Zealand.
