Rohit Sharma's participation in the ODI World Cup 2027 tournament is the hot topic after the right-hand batter was relieved from the captaincy ahead of the three-match ODI series against Australia, starting on October 19. Despite the Mumbai batter winning the Champions Trophy 2025 tournament, the selectors opted to give ODI captaincy to Shubman Gill two years before the ODI World Cup 2027 event. While several experts feel Rohit won't make it to the squad for the showpiece event, Mohammed Kaif feels the veteran will be part of the squad.
With the former skipper turning 40 for the ODI World Cup 2027 event, the selectors may not consider him for selection. However, Kaif stated Rohit's humongous amount of experience and his ability to score runs consistently makes him an invaluable asset in the ODI squad, which might be challenging for the Ajit Agarkar-led panel to keep him out of the team.
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“He will definitely play, boss. Look, the captaincy may have been taken away from him, but I believe that as an opener, Rohit Sharma will do his job. You need an experienced batter in the side. You can’t go to South Africa, where the World Cup will be played, with an entirely young team. Sometimes in those seaming conditions, the ball moves a lot and the pitches are bouncy. If you take only new players there, they’ll get exposed,” said Mohammad Kaif on his YouTube channel.
I believe Rohit Sharma will perform even better: Kaif
The expert also shown confidence on the former India skipper in scoring briskly in power play, and scoring in all kinds of pitches against pacers and spin bowlers. Hence, the former player believes Rohit will perform even better in the upcoming matches.
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"That’s why I feel you need a player who can handle the bounce, who can pull and cut the rising deliveries just like Rohit Sharma does. On those kinds of pitches, I believe Rohit Sharma will perform even better. His batting style as an opener suits such conditions perfectly. He plays the rising ball, the one that bounces from the front, extremely well. Among all the players you can name, Rohit Sharma is the only one who handles that rising delivery so effectively,” he added.
Notably, Rohit will make a comeback in the ODI format after featuring in the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand in March this year. The right-hand batter has a terrific record Down Under and would be eager to make a roaring statement against Australia in the coming three ODIs.
