It has been a tumultuous six months for Rohit Sharma, with runs hard to come by and the situation so dire that he even had to drop himself from the XI. But as they say, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. For Rohit Sharma, though, it wasn’t just light – it was radiance, luminescence and resplendence. Few India skippers would be as worthy of the Champions Trophy glory.
Amid intense speculation about his future and rumours of differences with coach Gautam Gambhir, there was a cloud of uncertainty surrounding his immediate prospects. Yet, Rohit Sharma never compromised on his style or approach to batting. Rohit Sharma continued to take on the bowlers with the sole aim of providing a solid start and setting a strong foundation for the team.
He succeeded more often than not in the Champions Trophy here in Dubai, although his approach and style of batting drew criticism from legends like Sunil Gavaskar. “As a batter, are you happy with scoring 25-30 runs?
You shouldn’t be,” Gavaskar told the India Today channel before the final, referring to his scores of 41, 20, 15 and 28 before the title clash. Rohit Sharma responded with a match-winning 76 on Sunday night. He was the player of the final.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s remarkable achievement in ICC tournaments
Rohit Sharma and Kohli now have won the most ICC titles as India players, winning four each. Kohli was part of Indian teams that won the 2011 ODI World Cup, ICC Champions Trophy in 2013 and 2025, and 2024 T20 World Cup. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma won the 2007 World T20, Champions Trophy in 2013 and 2025, and 2024 T20 World Cup.
Kohli also has won the ICC U19 World Cup as captain. Rohit Sharma top-scored for India with 76 off 83 to help them chase down the target of 252 set by New Zealand in the final. For his performance, the 37-year-old won player-of-the-final award. In the twilight of his career, Rohit Sharma has adapted an aggressive approach with the bat which often sets the ton of the innings.
Rohit Sharma has made it crystal clear that he’s not retiring from ODI cricket. The India captain was in no mood to spare the rumourmongers during a chat with his teammate Virat Kohli as the duo posed for pictures while basking in the glory of their Champions Trophy win on Sunday night in Dubai.
A clip is being widely shared on social media in which an unfiltered Rohit Sharma is purportedly telling Kohli how everyone is thinking they are going to retire from ODIs when it’s not the case.
Rohit Sharma shuts down retirement rumors after Champions Trophy 2025 triumph
Team India skipper Rohit Sharma firmly shut down retirement rumors after the Men in Blue won their third Champions Trophy by beating New Zealand at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. The right-handed batter opened up about it during the press conference that took place after the fixture.
Before the final, a handful of media reports claimed that Rohit will retire from one-dayers following the eight-team tournament, with Virat Kohli also joining him. Kohli hugging left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja after his bowling spell in the final also fuelled retirement rumors around the all-rounder.
Speaking at the presser, Rohit stated, as quoted by Cricbuzz:
“I want to clarify that I am not going anywhere, I am not retiring from this format, just to make sure that no rumors are spread going forward.”
The skipper hadn’t fired in the entire tournament but came good on the night of the final. Rohit lead from the front with 76 to break the back of the 252-run-chase after the bowlers did an outstanding job. KL Rahul (34*) and Shreyas Iyer (48) also made vital contributions to the cause.
When asked about KL Rahul’s performance, Rohit Sharma credited the keeper-batter for not wilting under pressure and believes that the batters’ collective effort has been one to cherish. The Nagpur-born cricketer said at the post-match presentation:
“Again, a very solid mind. He never gets overawed by pressure around him. That’s one of the reasons why we wanted to have him in the middle phase, to try and finish off games for us. He picks the right shots to play under pressure situations, which obviously allows the other guys batting around him to come and play freely.
For example, Hardik came out and played some really good shots in both games that gave us some freedom. Overall the batsmanship shown by all our batters throughout the tournament was superb.”
Rachin Ravindra was named the Player of the Series for his 263 runs and three wickets.
In a partial response to a question during the media conference, he answered in Hindi, stating that things would continue as usual. “Future plan? There is no future plan. What is going on, will continue,” Rohit remarked.
Rohit Sharma hinted that there is still a lot of hunger in him, implying his drive and passion remain strong. Rohit Sharma scored 180 runs in the Champions Trophy, crossing the 11,000-run mark during the course of the tournament. In 273 ODIs, he has 11,168 runs at an average of 48.76 with 32 centuries, including three double centuries.
The topic of retirement came up during the Champions Trophy, with many speculating that he would step away, much like he had done after the T20 World Cup in Barbados last June. Immediately after leading the team to the title in the T20 World Cup, he announced his retirement from the T20 format.
There has been speculation about Virat Kohli taking that step as well but the former India captain has done reasonably well in the Champions Trophy after previously struggling for runs. He has scored 218 runs, including a century, in the five matches here. Like Rohit, he too hung his T20I shoes in Barbados last June.