Forget an exuberant celebration or a sigh of relief from Rohit Sharma. There was no show of emotion once he reached his 32nd ODI century in Cuttack on Sunday.

It was much later, following a half-hearted joyful hug with non-striker Shreyas Iyer, that Rohit decided to raise his bat, almost nonchalantly, to the adulation. In no way did his reaction proclaim that he had reached the landmark after 13 innings in the 50-over format and a long lull in his career that lasted almost a year.

The expectations will continue to grow. Rohit will look to seize the opportunity and replicate his ‘selfless’ batting in the Champions Trophy in India’s quest for another ICC silverware.

But what does this innings mean for Rohit? Will he be in India’s plans when they start chalking out the core group for the 2027 World Cup? The India captain will be 39 then and the groundwork has to begin soon.

India already have a strategic T20 set-up in place for the World Cup at home next year and a similar arrangement will be in the minds of the selectors for ODIs to eliminate any waste of time.

Rohit has never spoken his mind, intense speculation over his future notwithstanding. A day before the opening ODI in Nagpur, he even lost his cool when queried about his future.

Sources told The Telegraph that it is unlikely that the selectors will dictate his destiny till he enjoys the confidence and blessings of the powers-that-be in the BCCI. His return to form is a welcome sign not only for the team but his personal ambitions too. He can now contemplate prolonging his career.

A successful campaign in the Champions Trophy can encourage him to take a shot at even extending his red-ball fortunes with the England tour coming up in June-July.

“We cannot take a call in a jiffy. Every move on the seniors has to be well thought out and has to be well-judged after every tournament or bilateral series. Rohit and Virat Kohli have achieved much success in England in the past and if they want to have a go again, it would be fair to allow them to continue,” a top BCCI official told The Telegraph.

Following a seven-ball 2 in the opener in Nagpur, Rohit blasted his way to 119 off 90 balls in Cuttack on Sunday. There was nothing to suggest that he had been weighed down by the expectations or had been struggling with his timing while executing his trademark flick and pull often resulting in catches in the mid-wicket region.

The template seemed all too familiar when Rohit’s belligerence and Shubman Gill’s ability to play the role of a patient accumulator laid the foundation for the 305-run chase. Rohit has never been bothered by the “outside noise”. His monstrous execution had propelled India’s unbeaten run till the final in the 2023 World Cup and he is in the mood to continue showing no restraint in his ‘selfless’ approach in Dubai.

In the end, Rohit was pretty scathing in his assessment of his batting approach. In a video shared by BCCI, Rohit termed “one or two knocks is not going to change my mind and the way I bat”.

“This is what I am talking about. I mean, look,when people have played for a number of years andscored so many runs over the years… that means something,” Rohit said. “I’ve played this game for a long time now and I understand what is required of me.”

In Sydney, after he had decided to opt out of the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he had made it clear that “there’s no guarantee that I won’t get the runs two or five months later.”

He has walked the talk in Cuttack strengthening his belief that he still has it in him to succeed at the highest level. For the India captain, it was “just another day in office” but for the team, it could go a long way in putting together the missing pieces of the jigsaw.