Indian batting maestro Rohit Sharma has risen to the number two spot in the latest ICC ODI rankings for batters released on Wednesday.
The 38-year-old Rohit, who has not played competitive cricket since the 2025 IPL season, moved up one place to dethrone Pakistan’s Babar Azam, who slipped to third after a string of low scores in the recent ODI series against the West Indies in the Caribbean.
Rohit now has 756 rating points, sitting just behind India’s Test captain Shubman Gill, who retained the top position with 784 points. Former India captain Virat Kohli is in fourth place with 736 points.
Both Rohit and Kohli had announced their retirement from the Test format before the Indian team’s tour of England but have expressed their willingness to continue in the 50-over game.
The two may be seen in action in the three-match ODI series against Australia in October and have already begun training to regain match fitness.
One of the all-time greats of the ODI game alongside Kohli, Rohit reached his career-best ranking points during the 2019 World Cup, amassing 882 points after smashing a record-breaking fifth century in the tournament.
The pair last featured in ODIs during India’s victorious Champions Trophy campaign in the UAE earlier this year.
India currently have five players in the top 15 of the men’s ODI batting rankings, with Shreyas Iyer in eighth place and K.L. Rahul in 15th.
Despite their standings, rumours persist among fans and cricket observers about whether Virat’s greying strands and Rohit’s relaxed holiday snapshots hint at the approaching end of their ODI careers.
Recent reports suggest that the upcoming three-match series in Australia could serve as a farewell for the two stalwarts.
Both have already retired from Tests and T20 internationals. They exited the shortest format on a high after ending India’s long ICC title drought with the T20 World Cup win in Barbados in June 2024.
Despite speculation over their ODI futures, Virat Kohli, 36, and Rohit Sharma continue to be vital to Indian cricket, with Kohli’s resurgence in the 2023 ODI World Cup and Rohit’s batting contributing to recent triumphs such as the T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy.
For now, the Board of Control for Cricket in India appears in no hurry to make any formal decisions.
“Obviously, if Rohit and Kohli have something in mind, they would inform the BCCI brass as they did before the England Test tour. From the Indian team’s perspective, the next major assignment is the T20 World Cup in February, with preparations preceding it. The immediate focus will be on selecting the best possible squad for the Asia Cup T20 tournament, hoping all players are fit and available,” a BCCI source told PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)
