"He is looking just that little bit preoccupied" - When an Indian legend urged Rohit Sharma to take a break

Team India's Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma has been struggling for batting form for a while now. The 37-year-old had a highest score of 23 from four innings during the Test series against Bangladesh at home in September 2024. In the three-match series that followed against New Zealand, he managed just one fifty. Rohit was abysmal in Australia, scoring 31 runs in five innings, with a best of 10.

The right-handed batter has had his lean phases in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well. After he managed just 181 runs in seven innings while leading Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2023 edition, Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar urged him to take a break from the T20 league and come back refreshed. While analyzing Rohit's struggles, he told Star Sports:

"I would like to see some change in the batting order [for Mumbai Indians]. Honestly, I would also say that Rohit should maybe also take a break for the time being, and keep himself fit for the World Test Championship [final]. [He can] come back again for the last few matches, but right now, [he should] take a little bit of a breather himself."

At the time of IPL 2023, India had confirmed their place in the WTC final and Gavaskar reckoned that being the leader, the big match was perhaps playing on his mind. The former India captain added:

"He is looking just that little bit preoccupied. Maybe at this stage he is thinking about the WTC [final], I don't know. But I do believe that at this stage he needs a little bit of a break, and come back for the last three or four matches so that he is in rhythm for the World Test Championship."

Rohit played 16 matches in IPL 2023 and scored 332 runs at an average of 20.75 and a strike rate of 132.80, with the aid of two half-centuries. MI made it to the playoffs but went down to Gujarat Titans (GT) by 62 runs in Qualifier 2.

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Rohit Sharma has been retained as captain for ODIs against England and Champions Trophy

Despite India's 3-1 loss in the five-match Test series in Australia, Rohit has been retained as captain for the three-match ODI series against England and the ICC Champions Trophy. Shubman Gill has been named his deputy.

India will play three one-dayers against England from February 6 to February 12. They will begin their Champions Trophy campaign with a match against Bangladesh on February 20. The Men in Blue will face arch-rivals Pakistan on February 23 and New Zealand on March 2.