India captain Rohit Sharma could be set for an emotional farewell if reports of his retirement after the third and final ODI against England at Lord’s prove true. While there has been no official confirmation from Rohit or the BCCI, speculation surrounding his ODI future has intensified ahead of Sunday’s series decider, prompting several former cricketers to voice their support for the veteran opener. Among them is former India fast bowler and 2007 T20 World Cup winner S. Sreesanth, who has made an emotional appeal to head coach Gautam Gambhir to allow Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to continue representing India for as long as they feel capable of contributing.
Speaking to Sports Dynamic Global, Sreesanth praised the legendary duo for their extraordinary contributions to Indian cricket and insisted that their experience remains invaluable, especially with the 2027 ODI World Cup still on the horizon. “Gautam, you’re the coach. Don’t stop anyone—especially RO-KO. Rohit and Virat’s record is exceptional. Let them play as long as they want because they are a thousand times better than most of the players currently playing. I just want to wish RO-KO all the very best. Please don’t stop these brilliant legends. Gautam, take care,” Sreesanth said.
Rohit Sharma has established himself as one of India’s greatest-ever ODI openers. The veteran batter has redefined white-ball batting with his ability to convert starts into massive scores, becoming the only player in history to register three double centuries in One-Day Internationals. His remarkable consistency at the top of the order has made him one of the most successful openers in the format.
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Virat Kohli, meanwhile, continues to rewrite ODI batting records. The star batter already holds the record for the most centuries in ODI history and remains one of India’s most dependable performers at No. 3. Kohli heads into the Lord’s ODI after a fluent 65-run knock in Cardiff and is closing in on another major milestone, needing just 133 more runs to become the fastest player to reach 15,000 ODI runs.
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Together, Rohit and Kohli have formed one of the most successful batting partnerships in ODI cricket, combining for more than 8,000 runs for India. Their consistency at the top of the order has played a defining role in India’s success over the past decade.
Speculation has also linked Virat Kohli’s ODI future with Rohit Sharma’s, with some former cricketers suggesting that Kohli could also consider retirement if his longtime teammate steps away from the format. However, neither player has made any public statement regarding their future.
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With the three-match series locked at 1-1, all attention will now shift to Lord’s, where India will not only fight for the ODI series but where Rohit Sharma’s future could also become one of the biggest talking points in Indian cricket.
