India ODI captain Rohit Sharma's childhood coach Dinesh Lad said that the stylish opening batter should play in the ODI World Cup 2027, which is scheduled to take place in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in October and November 2027.
Rohit, who led India to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 triumph, has announced his retirement from Test cricket in May ahead of the England tour. The 38-year-old had earlier announced his retirement from T20I cricket following the T20 World Cup triumph in Barbados last year.
With the long remaining time for the ODI World Cup 2025, there are speculations about Rohit Sharma's future in the ODI format. The veteran coach pointed out Rohit's exclusion from the 2011 ODI World Cup and asserted that the right-handed batter still has the "hunger and determination" to contribute to the country.
"Rohit Sharma should definitely play in the 2027 ODI World Cup. Winning the trophy has always been his dream, and he missed out on being part of the victorious 2011 squad," Lad told IANS.
However, Lad remained sceptical about Rohit's leadership future but backed his inclusion for the next ODI World Cup. "Whether he leads the team or not is for the BCCI and selectors to decide, but he still has the hunger and determination, should be part of the 2027 World Cup squad," he added.
Rohit has played 273 ODIs where he scored 11,168 runs at an average of 48.76, including 32 centuries and 58 fifties. He also holds the unique record of scoring three double centuries in the format.
Earlier this month, Rohit was spotted at The Oval to witness the fifth and final Test against England, which India won by six runs to draw the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 2-2.
Rohit's last cricketing outing came in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, where he scored 418 runs in 15 outings for Mumbai Indians (MI). MI's IPL 2025 campaign ended after losing the semifinal clash against Gujarat Titans (GT).