"Does everything become fine after scoring 1 hundred?" - Aakash Chopra on whether Rohit Sharma is back in form ahead of IND vs ENG 2025 3rd ODI

Former India player Aakash Chopra has questioned whether Rohit Sharma is back to his best after scoring a century in the second ODI against England. He opined that the Indian captain had resolved his issues to a large extent but not completely.

Rohit smashed 119 runs off 90 deliveries in India's four-wicket win in the second ODI against England in Cuttack on February 9. He will want to play another substantial knock in the final game of the three-match series in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, February 12, and help the hosts complete a clean sweep.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener wondered whether Rohit's century in Cuttack has put all his problems to rest.

"Is Rohit Sharma completely back in form? Why am I asking this question? Firstly, his ODI numbers have been incredible. It seemed like what happened in Tests, wouldn't make a difference because he scored runs in Sri Lanka the last time he played ODIs. Here, he has played two matches and scored a hundred in one," he said (4:45).

"So he is insulated, there is no problem in this format. However, the truth is that the decline we saw wasn't because of a format, the form had gone suddenly, which is not a good thing. However, does everything become fine after scoring one hundred? They become fine to a large extent but not fully," Chopra added.

Aakash Chopra pointed out that Virat Kohli's problems continued despite scoring a century in India's second innings of the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. He highlighted that a solitary century does not imply that the ball will always hit the middle of the bat and the player will keep scoring runs.

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'He should play 50-60 balls in this match as well and it's fine even if he plays at a run-a-ball" - Aakash Chopra on Rohit Sharma ahead of IND vs ENG 2025 3rd ODI

Rohit Sharma has adopted an ultra-aggressive batting approach in white-ball cricket. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra urged Rohit Sharma to play a significant knock, even if it's not belligerent, in the third ODI against England.

"I am saying that he should play 50-60 balls in this match as well and it's fine even if he plays at a run-a-ball. However, once innings are put together one after the after, the wagon comes back on track. Bad form is when you continuously get out early. Good form is when you continuously score good runs," he said (5:40).

The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted the significance of Wednesday's game for the Indian opener.

"If you are failing in four out of five innings, it means you are in poor form. However, if you score runs even thrice in five innings, then you are in decent form. Four times - great form. Five times - you are Sir Don Bradman. So I feel this knock is important for Rohit Sharma's self-confidence as it shouldn't come to his mind that he scored a century, but something is missing," Chopra elaborated.

Rohit Sharma has been in excellent form in ODIs over the last two years. While he amassed 1255 runs at an average of 52.29 in 26 innings in 2023, he aggregated 157 runs at an average of 52.33 in the three knocks he played last year.