Where is the hitman? Rohit Sharma’s form is a growing concern for India’s ODI World Cup plans | Cricket News
TimesofIndia.com in Cardiff: Rohit Sharma mustered just 37 runs from two ODIs against England in Birmingham and Cardiff. A 21-ball 11 at Edgbaston was followed by a 47-ball 26 at Sophia Gardens here on Thursday. For someone who used to run through attacks at the top of the order, he has become a walking wicket and a nightmare for bowlers because of his plodding approach. Across two innings, he managed just two boundaries and one six at a strike rate of 54.41. Where is the ‘Hitman’?Of the 21 balls he faced at Edgbaston, 14 were dots, or 66.67 percent. Move to the second ODI and the pattern remains the same. Of the 47 balls, 28 were dots, or almost 60 percent. Look closely and the ragged nature of the innings becomes more apparent.Second ball at Edgbaston, the 39-year-old slowly got his bat from Jofra Archer’s delivery. It picked up the bat and flew towards the slip. Two balls later, Archer left Rohit in two minds about whether to play or leave, and the hesitation resulted in an inside edge that almost topped the stumps. In Archer’s next over, Rohit pushes forward but is beaten on the outside off. The next ball beat him again, this time on the inside edge. A ball later, the right-hander is cut in half. Josh Tongue also bowled Rohit with his 140-plus kmph delivery.
India’s Rohit Sharma walks off the pitch after being caught by England’s Jos Buttler during the second ODI between England and India at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales, Thursday July 16, 2026. (AP | PTI)
Although Nataraj’s shooting showed the form of a boundary, the fluency that was once expected from Rohit and described as “Mumbai cha Raja” remains missing.Move to Cardiff on Thursday.In Archer’s first over, Rohit was beaten on the inside after a front-foot delivery. In the sixth over, Saqib Mahmood strayed into Rohit’s pads, but his bread-and-butter flick shot failed to land. In the 12th over, Gus Atkinson hit a short ball and Rohit, one of the best pull-shot players in this team, missed it completely. Two overs later, Rohit edged another short ball which, fortunately for him, landed safely between long leg and deep backward square leg.Ultimately, the dismissal sums up how bad Rohit has been lately. With Will Jacks in the attack, Rohit went down on one knee looking to sweep. Instead, he took the ball first, lobbing it quickly for wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.
India’s Rohit Sharma walks off the pitch after being caught by England’s Jos Buttler during the second ODI between England and India at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, Wales, Thursday July 16, 2026. (AP | PTI)
It’s not just these two games. The former India captain looked uncomfortable even in the nets. Before the start of the series, he chose to face the sidearm specialists in the second session of the net and had to switch after a point as he struggled to find his timing. Later, he went a step further with an open-nets approach, with the field spread as a form of match simulation.On the eve of the first ODI, he arrived later than the other top-order batters and once again worked with the sidearm bowlers to prepare for the series.During three ODIs against Afghanistan, Rohit scored 16, 48 and 79, a total of 143 runs at an average of 47.66 and a strike rate of 115.32. In the injury-hit IPL 2026, the right-hander scored just 283 runs from nine matches at an average of 35.38 and a strike rate of 157.22.
Former Indian captain Rohit Sharma.
With Yashasvi Jaiswal waiting in the wings despite scoring runs, Rohit’s lack of form is a worrying sign for India’s plans for the 2027 ODI World Cup. True, he is India’s highest run-scorer since the last ODI World Cup and has since retired from T20Is. But it is also true that, based on form, he trails skipper Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli in runs scored since the start of last year as well as this year.Going purely by body language, Rohit doesn’t inspire much confidence at the moment. The right-hander looked slow against the seamers, something that could be a major factor in the ODI World Cup in South Africa. He is easily wounded and hardly sure of himself. Even on the field, he’s no longer the fastest on the blocks.Come the ODI World Cup, Rohit will be 40 years old and will be hoping to join a list that includes Chris Gayle, Brad Hogg, Mohammad Hafeez and Imran Tahir as some of the oldest players to take part in the tournament. But if current form is any indication, he doesn’t need to go to South Africa.
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