'Don't know if...': Rohit Sharma's candid admission on ODI future after match-winning partnership with Virat Kohli

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in action at Sydney (BCCI Photo)

Ever since the ODI squad against Australia was announced, the main narrative was the comeback of stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who now only take part in the 50-over format after retiring from T20Is and Tests.

With age not on their side and runs also drying up, there were doubts whether the two would last till the ODI World Cup in 2027 – a trophy they had missed winning by a whisker in 2023 at home. The clamour for their exits from the game got louder after the first ODI in Perth in which Rohit scored 8 and Virat fell for a duck.

Though Rohit somewhat redeemed himself with a score of 73 in the second ODI in Adelaide, Virat again fell for a duck much to the disappointment of his fans. That Kohli was under tremendous pressure when he came out to bat in the third ODI in Sydney was evident when he fist-pumped with a smile after getting off the mark. But Kohli wasn’t finished here.

Both the former captains gave fitting replies to critics with match-winning unbeaten knocks and helped India avoid a series whitewash.

Rohit smashed 3 sixes and 13 fours in his unbeaten 121-run knock that came off 125 balls, while Kohli caressed 7 fours in his unbeaten 74-run knock off 81 deliveries, in an undefeated stand of 168 runs off 169 balls, as India won with 11.3 overs to spare.

Kohli scored his 75th ODI fifty and when he reached 58, he became the second highest run-scorer in ODIs, behind Sachin Tendulkar, overtaking Kumar Sangakkara’s tally of 14234 ODI runs.

Rohit reached his 33rd ODI hundred off 105 balls and he became the only batter with five or more hundreds in each of the three formats – 12 in Tests, 33 in ODIs and 5 in T20Is. Rohit also became the first visiting batsman to hit 6 ODI 100s in Australia, going ahead of Virat Kohli (5) and Kumar Sangakkara (5). Rohit also joined Sachin Tendulkar as the only Indian batsman to hit 9 ODI hundreds against Australia.

With 12 150+ partnerships in ODIs, Rohit and Kohli also equalled the records of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.

After the match, while talking to former cricketers Ravi Shastri and Adam Gilchrist, Rohit reflected on his previous tours to Australia.

Hinting that this was his last visit to Australia as a cricketer, Rohit said, “I have always loved coming here, and enjoyed playing cricket at this venue (in Sydney). Brought back nice memories of 2008 (his first tour of Australia), it was fun, don't know if we're going to come back (as cricketers), but I've enjoyed every bit. We've enjoyed playing cricket regardless of all the accolades over the years. Forget about what happened in the last 15 years, I've always loved playing here, I think it'll be the same for Virat as well. Thank you Australia.”

The three ODI series is set to be followed by a five-match T20I series between India and Australia.