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38-year-old Rohit Sharma has retired from Tests and T20Is and is only active in ODIs for the Indian men’s cricket team.
CSK pacer wants Rohit Sharma to play for next 10 years. (Picture Credit: X/@BCCI)
Chennai Super Kings fast bowler Khaleel Ahmed, who has also played 11 ODIs and 18 T20Is for the Indian men’s cricket team, reserved big praise for India’s ODI captain, Rohit Sharma. In an interview with RevSportz, the 27-year-old cricketer from Rajasthan said that Rohit is a gem and he has not seen a person like him. He went on to add that Rohit, who is 38 years old, should play for the next 10 years, as his presence will be good for Indian cricket.
“I feel Rohit Sharma should play for the next 10 years for the good of Indian cricket, and that’s my personal feeling,” Khaleel said.
Khaleel’s reaction came at a time when there are question marks over Rohit’s future in ODI cricket. Many experts of the game feel that Rohit could soon call time on his ODI career as well.
The left-arm pacer, who played in the 2018 edition of the Asia Cup for Team India under Rohit’s leadership, revealed the reason why he has so much respect for the Mumbai-based cricketer.
“When in 2019, we were playing a series against Bangladesh in Rajkot, once I didn’t have a great day and only got one wicket, so he came to me and spoke to me personally in the dressing room. The team was leaving the stadium, and he stayed back to have a one-on-one with me and told me how I should be. He told me that I am unaware of my own capabilities. When we were getting out of the stadium, all the fans were screaming for Rohit Bhai, and he told me that ‘all of this should happen for you too’ and that I should wish that for myself and stay positive. A captain like him, talking to me like that after the match, made me wonder how kind a person he was,” Khaleel said.
“I’ve seen him do the same thing with Rishabh (Pant). ‘What a man! What a captain!’ I would say. People don’t even look at you when you have a bad match, but as a captain he is something else. Recently I met him at the CoE during the Duleep Trophy, and he looked very fit, so I asked him to stay like that and keep playing. I have hardly seen such a captain and person in my life; he is a gem, and I have a lot of respect and love for him,” he added.
Rohit, who last played for India in the final of the Champions Trophy 2025, is expected to be picked in India’s ODI squad for the three-match away series in Australia next month.
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