Ravichandran Ashwin is not happy with the BCCI men’s selection committee’s reported decision to tell Rohit Sharma he was not wanted in ODIs after the ongoing India-England series. The former spinner feels that if Ajit Agarkar and Co. had decided that Rohit didn’t deserve to go to the 2027 World Cup, the decision should have been conveyed to him in 2025, not now, with just over a year to go for the tournament.
Reports claim that Rohit was not happy with the selectors’ call when he was told about it before the England tour. He is said to have approached the BCCI, too, but to no avail. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has a record two centuries in his first seven ODIs, is the likely replacement, but the decision has caused a bit of a stir in the Indian circles, with the classic debate of experience vs youth raging on.
“My problem is with the Indian team itself,” Ravichandran Ashwin said. “I’m thinking—we’re going to South Africa in September or October. Do we need Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma? If you ask me, I will want that experience. I know Yashasvi Jaiswal is pushing hard from behind. But if you ever felt, as a selector, coach, captain—whoever the decision-maker is — if you ever felt in your mind that ‘I’m not taking these players,’ if you think these players won’t go to the 2027 World Cup and we don’t want them, that could have been communicated at the end of the Champions Trophy.”
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Rohit had just won the Champions Trophy as the captain and was in excellent batting form as a player, which would have made it an even more controversial time.
Ashwin admitted that such conversations are uncomfortable and players might push back if they think they don’t deserve to be dropped. But, drawing from his own experience, he said that while the initial hurt is real, if the communication is clear, players eventually accept it.
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“I just feel it has to happen very clearly. Maybe it has happened in Rohit’s case. Maybe it has happened in Virat’s case. But by pure performance, they haven’t been poor at all. Virat has been excellent. Rohit has been more than decent. Why have we let it come to August 2026, when there are only 10-12 months to go for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa? Why have we let it come this far? That’s my only question… Players like Rohit and Virat deserve respect, at least through communication. Even now, I’m telling you, there are 12 months to go—this is too late to make a call like this. It should have been done earlier.”
