Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa feels that Rohit Sharma will have to let go of his aggressive batting approach for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Australia. This comes after the selection committee had decided to take ODI captaincy from Rohit and hand it to Shubman Gill. Uthappa highlighted how over the past few years, Rohit has scored runs at a fast pace when it comes to one-day cricket.
“Rohit Sharma is someone who has upped the ante even in one-day cricket. Over the last 3-4 years, he has played at a much quicker clip, and I think that’s been a transformation of sorts for him. Ideally, how he scored most of his runs in one-day cricket is: his first fifty took around 60-70 balls, the next fifty took much less, then the next fifty even less, and then the next fifty even less," Uthappa said on the Good Areas podcast.
However, Uthappa feels that Rohit will now be batting more cautiously in matches and wil be hoping to stick on the crease for a little longer than what he usually does. This is due to the fact that he won't ge getting much game-time before the 2027 ODI World Cup as India do not play many matches in the format. The 38-year-old will be looking to make the most out of every opportunity he gets before the mega tournament.
“The shift in the way he (Rohit) approaches one-day cricket has changed. I think he has probably found a sweet spot with that. There are times I feel he doesn’t need to be so aggressive. I think he was leading from the front and he wanted to do that. Now, he would probably be a little more circumspect because it would have been much more difficult to drop a captain versus now as a player. They (the selectors) have also said both these players will be picked on merit. So, I think they will be a little more cautious before being uber-aggressive," Uthappa added.
Rohit and Virat set for ODI return
Meanwhile, the ODI series against Australia will be both Rohit and Virat Kohli's first international assignment since the 2025 Champions Trophy final in March. The two were expected to play a key role in the five-match Test series against England, but shockingly announced their retirements from the format in May. Now, they are only active in the one-day format and will be eyeing to play for India in the 2027 ODI World Cup.
ALSO READ: Karun Nair ends Vidarbha stint, returns to this team for upcoming Ranji Trophy season
India's squad for Australia ODIs: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal.