Devajit Saikia Breaks Silence, Denies Rohit Sharma ODI Exit Rumors

BCCI honorary secretary Devajit Saikia cleared all the reports that were flooding the media about Indian batter Rohit Sharma’s retirement, which was ignited during the second One Day International match between England and India, held at Cardiff.

It was being speculated that the final ODI of the India tour of England 2026, which will be played at Lord’s Cricket Ground, London, on 19th July 2026, would be the last appearance of Rohit Sharma, the highest individual run scorer in a single ODI match, with 264 runs.

Reports also claimed that the management was looking for young players who could replace the 39-year-old batter, who had already broken the record of Mohinder Amarnath by playing an ODI match and becoming the oldest cricketer in men’s international cricket.

BCCI’s Devajit Saikia Rejects Rohit Sharma ODI Exit Speculation

Devajit Saikia, on 17th July 2026, dismissed all the bulletins that were based on speculation about Rohit Sharma’s long-term plans and the belief that Team India was looking for young batters other than Rohit Sharma ahead of the ICC Men’s World Cup 2027. The news heightened after Rohit’s performances at Cardiff, where he scored 26(47), and at Edgbaston, where he played an innings of 11(21). The veteran batter remained confident about his form and is looking for a huge knock at Lord’s.

“There are lot of speculations going on in the media about Rohit Sharma’s future. I want to firmly assert that there has been no such discussion that Rohit will be playing his last match at Lord’s on Sunday,” Saikia added. “Rohit is a regular member of the Indian ODI team and he will continue to represent the country as long as he is in the scheme of things. In other words, Lord’s ODI won’t be his last match.”

Selectors, before the ODI series, were looking to provide opportunities to the young pacers while preparing for the 2027 ODI World Cup, and it was seen that the Indian selectors, management, and head coach Gautam Gambhir started conversations with Rohit Sharma about his long-term plans.

After he retired from the T20I cricket format and the Test match format, Rohit Sharma has continued his international career only in the One Day International format, and he currently holds the record as the seventh-highest run scorer in the format with 11,757 runs at a blistering average of 48.58.

The conclusion of the intervention by BCCI honorary secretary Devajit Saikia on the news stated that the match to be held on 19th July 2026 at Lord’s, the England vs India 3rd ODI, will not be Rohit Sharma’s last international match.