Dilip Vengsarkar says player of Rohit Sharma’s stature should get to decide his future

Former Indian batter Dilip Vengsarkar reckons player of Rohit Sharma’s stature should get to decide his future. Before the Champions Trophy final, it was reported that Rohit could retire from ODIs if India failed to win against New Zealand.

However, after India’s four-wicket win in the summit clash, Rohit cleared the air, stating he isn’t retiring from ODIs anytime soon. Rohit had decided to call time on his T20I future after leading India to glory in the T20 World Cup 2024.

The Indian captain scored a match-winning knock of 76 runs off just 83 balls in the final of the Champions Trophy against New Zealand and thus was awarded Player of the Match.

“I am not an astrologer. A lot of matches to go till the 2027 World Cup. A lot will depend on his form and fitness. It is not fair to say anything at this stage but he has been outstanding as both captain and player. I don’t know why people speculated (on his retirement), it’s unwarranted. A player of his stature should get to decide about his future,” Vengsarkar told PTI.

Vengsarkar said that the presence of veteran batters like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma is demoralizing for the opposition teams.

“The way he has been playing all this time is nothing short of exemplary. He has got three double hundreds in ODI. What more do I say about him. Guys like Virat and Rohit are big match players, the bigger the platform the better the performance. It is very important from the team’s point of view. Their sheer presence is demoralizing for the opposition,” said Vengsarkar.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma scored 180 runs in the Champions Trophy at an average of 36 and a strike rate of 100. On the other hand, Virat Kohli scored 218 runs in the eight-team tournament at an average of 54.50 and a strike rate of 82.89.