If the Indian cricket team did not have Rohit Sharma in their plans for the 2027 ODI World Cup, then the decision should have been communicated immediately after India’s Champions Trophy triumph in 2025, Ravichandran Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Reacting to the speculation surrounding Rohit’s retirement, Ashwin questioned the way the Indian team has handled senior players towards the end of their careers. The former India spinner said there was perhaps no worse feeling than being made to feel unwanted in a team where a player had built his legacy.
‘DON’T MAKE ROHIT FEEL UNWANTED’
An emotional Ashwin drew parallels with his own retirement, which came midway through the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
“In my case, we played against Bangladesh (at home), I was the player of the series. Against New Zealand we did not play well and I take complete responsibility. When we went to Australia, I felt that the management did not want me there,” Ashwin said on Ash Ki Baat.
Ashwin said players cannot perform at their best once they begin to feel unwanted by the team management.
“If Rohit and Virat do not feel wanted, they cannot perform at their best. Secondly, they feel so low about being there. Can you stay in a house where nobody wants you there?” Ashwin asked.
ASHWIN BLASTS BCCI
The comments come amid growing speculation over Rohit’s ODI future after a dip in form over the past few months. Ashwin, however, believes India’s experienced campaigners still have an important role to play at the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa.
For Ashwin, Rohit’s recent struggles are simply a case of a player going through a lean patch. The former off-spinner argued that India would still need the experience of both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli on the bouncy South African pitches.
Ashwin also questioned the timing of the speculation, saying that if the management had already decided to move on from Rohit, it should not have waited until just 12 months before the World Cup.
“Yes, he has dipped in form in the last eight matches. My problem with the situation is the Indian team itself. If we are going to South Africa in September and October, I would want the experience of Rohit and Kohli. But if you ever felt that you did not want to carry the players into the 2027 ODI World Cup, that could have been communicated at the end of the 2025 Champions Trophy,” Ashwin said.
“It is a double-edged sword. The players would never feel good. If someone were to come to me in Australia and say that we do not see you in our plans, I would have been angry, but later I would have understood that at least the communication was clear,” he added.
“That needs to happen, and happen very clearly. But just based on performance, they have not been bad at all. Virat has been excellent, Rohit above average. Why have we let this come to August 2026, with 12 months to go for the World Cup? Why have we let this come so far? That’s my only question,” Ashwin concluded on the matter.
DID ASHWIN FACE THE SAME?
The veteran spinner also briefly opened up about his own experience with the Gautam Gambhir-led Indian team, saying he never received the clarity he was looking for from the management. Ashwin hinted that he was indirectly told to mentor the younger players, which he interpreted as a sign that his time in the national team was coming to an end.
“I like straight conversation. I cannot work with indirect messaging. If someone comes to me and says, ‘Ashwin, we have these young kids, you should train them,’ what does that mean? Is this not a way to make people feel unwanted?” Ashwin concluded.
The third and final ODI between India and England at Lord’s could potentially be Rohit Sharma’s last appearance in the format. Rohit has played 287 ODIs for India, scoring 11,757 runs at an average of 48.58, including 33 centuries. If he decides to retire, he will finish as the seventh-highest run-scorer in ODI history.
– Ends
