Virat Kohli Rohit Sharma Parents in London. Image Credits: AFP/Web
Rohit Sharma’s childhood coach, Dinesh Lad, has reacted to the reports of his ward’s impending retirement from international cricket. Rohit Sharma has been struggling for runs ever since winning the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
Things have gotten pretty poor in 2026, as Rohit Sharma has managed 241 runs in 8 ODIs with only one fifty to his name and a strike rate that is very below his high standards. His only fifty came against Afghanistan in the recent ODI series, in the match that was played in Chennai.
Dinesh Lad rubbishes talks about Rohit Sharma’s retirement and wants him to play in the 2027 World Cup
In a recent interview with ABP News, Dinesh Lad, who coached Rohit Sharma since his childhood, has rubbished all the claims of Rohit retiring from ODI cricket. Notably, according to several reports, including that of the Indian Express, the BCCI selectors have told Rohit Sharma that they are moving on from him and the Lord’s ODI might be his last one.
Lad was asked about Rohit playing his final ODI, and he said, "I want Rohit to play the World Cup; I have only one dream: that Rohit is seen playing in the 2027 World Cup. If he retires, then there will be an end to an era. Rohit is a big player; see, the form is here and there, but this does not mean that he is a bad player.
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I cannot speak on what the selectors think, but I want to see him play the World Cup. I can't say what is the view of the selectors, but now Rohit should play.”
Rohit Sharma’s poor run in ODIs since the 2025 Champions Trophy
He won't get any younger, and the selectors have legitimately expressed concerns about his fitness. Furthermore, his 2026 ODI record is, to put it mildly, mediocre. He will be 41 when the ICC World Cup 2027 comes around.
In the years 2025 and 2026, Rohit has managed 891 runs in 22 ODIs with 2 centuries and 5 fifties for Indian team. His highest score has been 121*. But the issue for concern has been his form in 2026, where he has made only one fifty.
Rohit and his golden era
While Rohit Sharma had made his India ODI debut in 2007, he didn’t show his true colors until 2013, when he was made to open the innings in the Champions Trophy that year, and the rest has been history.
With 657 maximums, Sharma is presently the top six-hitter by a wide margin. As a player, he amassed over 20,000 international runs in all formats. He continued to be one of the top run scorers in both white-ball forms, with 11,731 runs in ODIs and 4,231 in T20Is.
As a captain, Rohit led India to their first ICC trophy since the 2011 World Cup win, when India defeated South Africa in the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup. The next year, Rohit Sharma led India to the 2025 Champions Trophy win in Dubai.
He remains one of the few players to win more than one T20 World Cup and more than one ICC Champions Trophy. The only trophy that he doesn’t have in his cabinet is the ICC World Cup, having missed the bus in 2011 and losing to Australia in the final of the 2023 World Cup.
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