Rohit Sharma, the legendary batter who has been auditioning for his spot in the India ODI World Cup team alongside Virat Kohli, has been declared incapable by the fans after he failed to convert his back-to-back starts into a convincing total.
India started off their New Zealand series with a dominating show in Vadodara, where all players made significant contributions, and they took a lead early in the series after having won the match while chasing a target of 301 runs.
The second India vs New Zealand match shifts to another city in Gujarat, as India take on the Blackcaps in the Niranjan Shah Stadium. The venue has offered considerable balance for batting and bowling, while the New Zealand skipper won the toss and sent the Indians to bat first.
Rohit Sharma dismissed following a slow start in Rajkot
As India were asked to bat first, Rohit Sharma opened the innings alongside the newly appointed captain, Shubman Gill, who has been considered the future of Indian cricket. Opening the innings, Rohit Sharma needed to capitalize on this occasion after having missed out in Vadodara.
Having made a very slow start against Kyle Jamieson, Rohit found his first runs on the 11th ball of the innings. He then slowly got his momentum going and hit some boundaries, which gave him another convincing start and set the tone for a fine innings.
After playing several dot balls, especially against the debutant spinner, Rohit lost his patience and decided to clear the fence as he advanced down the track against Kristian Clarke and could not time the cross seamer to perfection, eventually getting caught at deep cover by Will Young.
Rohit Sharma slipped down to third position in the ICC ODI Rankings
Before the start of the Second ODI in Rajkot, Rohit Sharma, the batter who held the no. 1 spot in the ICC ODI Rankings for a long time now, since the Australia ODIs, faced a sudden drop as his competitors soon surpassed him.
Virat Kohli’s 93 in the last game helped him take the top spot as he was placed in the second spot, and with a huge increase in rating points, he took the top spot now. New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell also scored 84 in Vadodara, which took him past Rohit as well.
Rohit is now third on the ICC ODI Batting Rankings with 775 points and missed out on an opportunity to bounce back this time as well.
“This way, he will be dropped before 2027″ – Indian fans predict Rohit Sharma’s future ahead of World Cup
He is just back to his default setting after 2 series. Nothing new. I am used to it.
— RO_45 (@okokok1456789) January 14, 2026
Iska har baar ka hai ……. Chutiay jaisa wicket throw kar deta hai
Aur fir gandu log aa jate hai selfless selfless chillate🤡🤡🤡
— Harish Jadhav (@_HarishJadhav) January 14, 2026
Why play that shot man 🙂 there was no need for that
— WU…aaa (@kjl_pwr_29) January 14, 2026
Retirement hi lele yaar ab to yhi man krta hai, jb bhi Century ki expectations rhti hain out ho jata hai aisa nhi chlega bhai aur na hi iss form ke sath ye WC khel skta h
— Blood Saryuparin (@saryuparin_42) January 14, 2026
This way he will be dropped before 2027💔
— ŜĐ⁴⁵ (@SND1989611) January 14, 2026
🤣🤣 Strike rate saar 🥶
— MARCUS (@MARCUS907935) January 14, 2026
Rohit started playing like Kohli and Kohli started playing like Rohit 😭
— dhruuuv (@joshidhruv523) January 14, 2026
Rohit Sharma is the weakest part of our ODI team. I think he don’t know what is diffence between ODI and T20.
If Rohit continues like this, he may even be out of the squad for the ODI WC. pic.twitter.com/ZHPnBxDZKn
— ` (@KohliHood) January 14, 2026
ALSO READ: King is back! Virat Kohli ends Rohit Sharma’s reign at the top of ICC ODI Rankings
