“Could be the final tournament” - Sanjay Manjrekar’s huge statement on Indian veteran ahead of IND vs PAK 2025 Champions Trophy match

Former player Sanjay Manjrekar believes the 2025 Champions Trophy could be India skipper Rohit Sharma's final ICC tournament. At 37, Rohit continues to be in red-hot form in ODIs, scoring a quickfire 36-ball 41 in the Men in Blue's opening win of the tournament against Bangladesh on February 20.

However, with the side not qualifying for the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final and Rohit retired from T20Is, the next ICC tournament will be the 2026 T20 World Cup. Moreover, the champion cricketer will be 40 when the next ODI World Cup begins in the second half of 2027.

Considering these factors, Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo [as quoted by Indian Express]:

"I have a feeling (that) if he has decided, I mean can Rohit Sharma be there for the 2027 Cricket World Cup? I don’t think so, very unlikely. So, then, this could be, what you are suggesting, could be the final tournament. I’m expecting Rohit Sharma to go out there and he should be actually liberated not so much by this being his sort of swansong or whatever, just by the fact that so much of quality batting to come (from him)."

Rohit's onslaught in the powerplay helped India begin their 2025 Champions Trophy campaign with a convincing six-wicket win over Bangladesh. The Men in Blue will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in a highly-anticipated contest in Dubai today (February 23).

"They saw the captain was selfless" - Sanjay Manjrekar on Rohit Sharma

Rohit led from the front throughout India's near-perfect 2023 World Cup journey [Credit: Getty]

Sanjay Manjrekar feels Rohit Sharma's popularity and love among the Indian fans grew after his selfless display in the 2023 ODI World Cup at home. The 37-year-old took it upon himself to provide the side with blistering starts in the powerplay, sacrificing milestones for impactful knocks.

Rohit finished as the tournament's second-leading run-scorer with 597 runs at an average of over 54 and a strike rate of 125.94 in 11 outings.

"2023 World Cup (in India) Rohit Sharma’s popularity soared. What they loved about Rohit Sharma is that they saw the captain was selfless, went out there… (he) could have got a hundred but (instead) gave a great flying start to the team and made things easier for the players coming after him," Manjrekar said in the same interview.

Despite Rohit's heroics, India fell agonizingly short of their ultimate goal, losing to Australia in the grand finale after going unbeaten until that point in the tournament.