BCCI Asks Rohit Sharma To 'Focus On Fitness And Performance' And Avoid...

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly asked Rohit Sharma to focus on his fitness and performance and avoid reacting to speculations about his future in international cricket. Rohit, who retired from T20Is on June 29, 2024, and from Tests on May 7, 2025, is only active in ODIs now. There were a lot of question marks over his future in international cricket ahead of the three-match ODI series in Australia last month. But after he scored one century and one half-century against the six-time ODI World Cup winners and also finished the away series as the highest run-getter, the rumours of his retirement from ODIs were put to bed.

The right-handed batter from Mumbai, who is also India’s third-highest run-getter in the 50-over

format of the game, will next be seen in action for the Indian team in the three-match ODI series against South Africa. The three ODI series between India and South Africa will be played in Ranchi, Raipur and Visakhapatnam on November 30, December 3 and December 6, respectively.

According to a report in the Times of India on Saturday (November 29), “BCCI has asked Rohit to ‘just focus on his fitness and performance’ while ‘avoiding’ reacting to speculation on his future.”

As per a BCCI source, the board wants Rohit to continue playing his aggressive brand of cricket, which was missing in the Australia series.

“It is expected that he (Rohit) continues to lead by example as a fearless batter at the top of the order. The conditions were tough in Australia, but it did look like he was avoiding taking risks. Both (Rohit and Virat) are expected to lead the batting to make it easier for the rest of the younger batters around them,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by TOI.

It has also been reported that following the conclusion of ODI series against South Africa, BCCI is planning to set up a meeting between selectors and team management to “firm up a plan on Rohit and Virat’s future in the setup, with an eye on the 2027 ODI World Cup.

“It is very important that players of Rohit and Kohli’s stature are given clarity about what is expected of them and how the current management views their roles. They can’t just be playing with uncertainty,” a BCCI source said.