Former India batter Mohammad Kaif shed light on Rohit Sharma’s struggles on the England tour, which escalated with an unimpressive 47-ball 26-run knock in the second ODI at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. The opening batter looked far from his fluent best and was dismissed by Will Jacks in the 18th over, as pressure continues to mount on him.
The recent string of failures has also led to speculation that Rohit Sharma might retire after the upcoming third ODI of the series at Lord’s, on Sunday, July 19. The team management have reportedly informed the former skipper that he is not a part of the ODI World Cup 2027 plans going forward.
Rohit Sharma has only hit the 50-run mark once in eight ODIs in 2026, and has scored 37 runs at an average of 18.50 and a strike rate of 54.41, in the ongoing series. All of this has led Kaif to suggest that this is the most the veteran has ever struggled in his ODI career.
“He played a strange innings in this match, I have rarely seen Rohit Sharma struggle like this, where he is getting stuck against the short ball. In the next match you are going to see Rohit Sharma take on and play shots, he will pull, he will drive, and he might get out, but that is a different matter. But he is going to play with intent in the next match,” Mohammad Kaif said on Cricbuzz.
Team India were not able to make an impression in the second ODI after being put into bat first by England, collapsing from 178-3 to 233 all out, with six overs remaining. The Harry Brook-led side chased the score down to level the series 1-1, bringing the series decider into play.
“He would want that to happen” – Mohammad Kaif backs Rohit Sharma to go out on a high if he chooses to retire after ENG vs IND 2026 3rd ODI
The former India batter noted that if Rohit Sharma intends to walk away after the third ODI against England, he should bring back his natural approach, take on the bowlers, and produce a farewell innings that will be remembered fondly.
“Assume that Rohit Sharma plays and scores a 100, he can do that, because when he flops for 2-3 innings, he bats aggressively in the next game. He has done that throughout his career. Yes, he has not been consistent, that has been the difference between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. So, if such an innings comes, he would want that to happen,”
“If he decides that he will not play any longer or the selectors take the call that he will not play, then he would want to go out like this, on a high note. He would want to contribute in a do-or-die game, and he can do that. He was not settled in the second ODI, the flow was not there, so his time has come, but this has happened many times in his career, and he has always responded back, so I hope that if the next match is his last, then he should go out with such an innings that people remember,” he added.
During the post-match press conference, Team India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak denied the claims that Rohit Sharma is being pressured into considering retirement amid his lean run in England. The Hitman has already retired from T20Is and Tests, meaning that the upcoming final ODI against England could be his final time playing for Team India.
Edited by Gokul Nair