“I don’t want to give fodder to speculation,” said Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia when asked about Rohit Sharma’s future with the Indian team. He said Rohit has been ‘playing superbly in all matches’, offering further backing to him ahead of the 2027 World Cup.
Unfortunately for Saikia and the BCCI, this doesn’t seem to end any speculation, but enhance it.
Since the story broke about Rohit’s potential retirement after the Lord’s ODI in England, the speculation hasn’t been so much about whether he’d continue until the 2027 World Cup, and more about what happens with him, and Indian cricket, when none of its stakeholders seem to be on the same page.
The initial reports were that Rohit had been informed by one
member of the BCCI selection committee, who seemingly was not chief selector Ajit Agarkar, that he was no longer in their plans for the World Cup. Yashasvi Jaiswal was touted to be the clear replacement.
It did cause furore on social media, which is quite common for every huge decision the selectors make. Somewhere between the chaos, there was an acceptance that it was part of the selectors’ remit to make unpopular decisions if they believe it’s for the good of Indian cricket.
No matter where one sits about Rohit’s quality and importance to India’s 11, it’s the selectors’ job to decide whether he’s needed or not, and to make sure he’s given a heads-up beforehand, if they deem it necessary. It might turn out to be the wrong decision, but that’s the onus that selectors get paid for.
Rohit was said to be angry about the call, which is fair, and approached some BCCI officials to express his disappointment, which is also justified. But that’s where the story should have ended.
Things got confusing when the BCCI, via Saikia, offered a completely different stance before the Lord’s match.
“There are a lot of speculations going on in the media about Rohit Sharma’s future,” Saikia told PTI. “I want to firmly assert that there has been no such discussion that Rohit will be playing his last match at Lord’s on Sunday. Rohit is a regular member of the Indian ODI team, and he will continue to represent the country as long as he is in the scheme of things. In other words, Lord’s ODI won’t be his last match.”
If the selectors were to change their mind after Rohit’s century at Lord’s, then so be it, but their call should have been final. But by jumping in, the BCCI has shown that it is, at least in this matter, at odds with the selection committee.
This is an extremely concerning matter for Indian cricket. Agarkar has been an excellent servant of the men’s job. At the very least, he was a massive upgrade on Chetan Sharma, who was notorious for avoiding press conferences and taking curious calls with no explanation.
Agarkar’s good choices have been key in India’s T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy victories, and his transparency has been a breath of fresh air in Indian cricket. Now, with his contract ending in September, all seems far from well.
He was conspicuous by his absence, physically and virtually, at the BCCI’s big review meeting, which means that the board’s planning for the future of Indian cricket had no voice from the man who selects the players. The reasoning that he’s out of station and couldn’t even join a call virtually doesn’t seem plausible. Several of the last few squad announcements have seen no press conferences either.
Has he been sidelined, and are the BCCI officials making the important selection calls, overriding the selection committee? If so, would administrators with little cricket experience be picking the squad for the 2027 World Cup, or will India change the chief selector just months before the marquee event?
If so, would it be the right precedent for the future chief selectors or for star cricketers who don’t want to be told they are surplus to requirements of Indian cricket?
Finally, if this happens, who would be responsible if Rohit fails at the World Cup — Agarkar, the BCCI, or the new selector? Rohit, now likely to be selected for India’s ODI series against the West Indies, will also lack the clarity he deserves in the absence of a working selector.
The BCCI isn’t obliged to tell Indian cricket fans what’s happening behind the scenes. It has been part of the good processes that have delivered a spate of trophies at all levels.
But its meeting, reportedly aimed at a discussion around the double T20I series defeat to England and Ireland, has left us with more questions — speculation fodder, if you will — than answers.
