Gautam Gambhir addressed Rohit Sharma's future. Photo: AP
Just 2 months ago, Rohit Sharma was under immense pressure following Team India's below-par performance in the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The India captain even dropped himself from the playing XI but he confirmed that he was still the captain. India head coach, Gautam Gambhir reportedly denied a BCCI administrator's request to give Rohit a chance to play his farewell Test match in Sydney.
2 months later, Gambhir was all praise for Rohit and he addressed the India captain's future. The India head coach supported the India captain and said that they evaluate a player with his impact and not his stats.
"If your captain bats with such a tempo, it gives a very good signal to the dressing room that we want to be absolutely fearless and courageous," Gambhir said after India's win over Australia in the 2025 Champions Trophy semi-final.
"You evaluate with runs, we evaluate with impact. That's the difference. You evaluate with stats, we evaluate with impact. As journalists and experts, you see numbers and averages. But as a coach and as a team, we don't see numbers and averages."
Even though Rohit hasn't played a big knock in the Champions Trophy, he has excelled on the captaincy front. He has got starts with the bat but failed to convert them into big knocks. The India opener scored a 36-ball 41 in the league stage game against Bangladesh.
Rohit followed up with a 15-ball 20 against Pakistan and scored 15 against New Zealand. He departed for a 29-ball 28 against Australia in the semi-final.
While Rohit could continue as India's ODI captain, his Test future remains in doubt. He could be dropped from the red-ball team due to his forgettable performance in Australia. India were whitewashed 3-0 by New Zealand at home before the Australia series. It was India's first home series defeat after 12 years.
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