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Indian captain Rohit Sharma is set to return to ODI cricket for the first time since the ICC World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad. Following his leadership in India’s victorious T20 World Cup campaign, which ended their ICC title drought of over a decade, Rohit Sharma, along with Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, retired from T20I cricket. Under the new T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav and coach Gautam Gambhir, India clinched a 3-0 series win against Sri Lanka.
Impressed by Suryakumar Yadav’s bold captaincy, Rohit Sharma, along with Virat Kohli, rejoined the Indian team for the ODI series preparations a few days ago. The first ODI is scheduled to take place in Colombo on August 2, and Rohit Sharma recently addressed the media in a pre-match press conference. Reflecting on his T20I retirement, he mentioned that he still feels deeply connected to the format despite officially stepping away from it.
“Abhi tak mujhe aisa hi…I felt like I have been rested from the T20s liks it used to happen in the past. And there will be big tournament coming up and we’ll have to get ready for T20s again. I still feel it is like that. So I don’t think I’m completely out of it,” Rohit said in the pre-match press conference ahead of the first ODI.
Felt Like I Have Been Rested From T20Is – Rohit Sharma
The upcoming Indian ODI squad boasts fresh faces with Riyan Parag and Harshit Rana earning their maiden call-ups, alongside Khaleel Ahmed, who returns to the ODI side after a five-year absence despite a challenging final over in the last T20I. Also making comebacks are Shivam Dube and Kuldeep Yadav, who didn’t feature in the T20Is.
Adding to the excitement, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant are making their returns to ODI cricket. Pant, recovering from injury, missed the ODI World Cup, while Rahul seized the opportunity, amassing 452 runs with two half-centuries and a century, and proving his prowess with 16 catches and a stumping. He also captained India in their last ODI series against South Africa.
In a recent press conference, Rohit Sharma addressed the dilemma of choosing between Pant and Rahul as the specialist wicketkeeper-batsman. He acknowledged both players’ match-winning abilities, describing the selection as a challenging but fortunate predicament for the team.
Shreyas Iyer’s comeback will also be closely monitored. Despite losing his BCCI central contract due to form and fitness concerns, Iyer’s consistent performances for KKR in IPL 2024 earned him a recall. His leadership led KKR to their third IPL title earlier this year, underlining his readiness to contribute to India’s ODI ambitions once more.
