Reflecting on reports that the third ODI against England could be Rohit Sharma’s last international game, veteran cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has added that Rohit has changed his approach. He also added that Rohit has never batted as conservatively as he did in the second ODI against England. However, Rohit scored 26 runs off 47 balls as India were bowled out for 233 in the second ODI in Cardiff on Thursday, July 16 as well.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “One thing is that Rohit has realized that he is the father of daddy hundreds, and quantity is required along with quality, and it’s required as an opener. He realized that he needs to look fit and that he cannot be a liability on the field. So he came with great fitness, and then he started playing slightly conservatively. He has changed his playing style. There was a time when he alone used to hit 50 in the Powerplay. If you see yesterday’s match, he got out in the 18th over after scoring 26 runs. We have never seen Rohit playing like that.”

However, Aakash Chopra also added that every stunning career has an end and added that it might be the right time for India to try someone else, considering Rohit Sharma’s age.

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“I think there are two ways to look at it. One is that no matter how beautiful a story is, eventually it has to end. Ultimately, everybody has to say goodbye. Rohit Sharma is 39 years old. He will become 40 next year. The World Cup is one-and-a-half years away. So he will be more than 40. If the Indian team has to go towards someone else, this is the time,” he said.

“If you see his numbers from the Champions Trophy, you would say he has scored runs. It’s been okay. It’s not excellent, but it’s not like the numbers have been very bad. Maybe this is the time. The selectors might have told him that they are going elsewhere. Maybe Yashasvi Jaiswal’s time is about to come. So this is it. That’s one way of looking at it,” Chopra shared again.

“Could a little more time have been given? Could you have waited a little longer, as one-and-a-half years are left? Again, you keep getting closer to the D-day, but I am myself saying that one-and-a-half years are left. So you could have waited a little. However, it was always going to be a tough one,” he concluded.