TimesofIndia.com in London: There was also a lot of music Rohit Sharma walked into the Lord’s cricket ground on Saturday. The heart remained the same when he came out about three hours later.“The most important person in all of India!” Screamed the fan. Someone announced, “Ek century pakka kal! (A century tomorrow for sure!),” Rohit smiled as he got into the black luxury bus. Running is probably not a ‘Hitman’ move. The opposition may be pushing him aside instead of supporting him to stay. But fans don’t see things that way. Rohit Sharma has scored 891 runs since the start of 2025, back Shubman Gill974 is Virat Kohli‘s 961. This year, he scored 241 runs, behind Gill’s 484 and Kohli’s 310. When pressured, even if the team managers refuse, they have to do something.As Rohit and Kohli prepare for what could be their last match in England, their contributions to the game have not been forgotten.“Obviously they’ve been fantastic players over the years, and it’s great to see them still playing,” the England boss said. Harry Brook it said ahead of the third ODI, with the series tied 1-1.Rohit scored just 37 runs in the ongoing series, 11 in Birmingham and 26 in Cardiff, raising questions as to whether the 39-year-old’s place in the Indian ODI team is in jeopardy. Batting agent Sitanshu Kotak insisted there was no compulsion to speak.On Saturday, Morne Morkel added another proverbial arm to Rohit’s shoulder.“It’s a tough job with the new ball up front. We’ve seen that all season. The ball is moving around.“So batting up front is not easy. No doubt Rohit will fix it. He has done it before. He is experienced, and he brings stability to the batting line-up. So, obviously, there is no concern or worry whatsoever about how they are doing,” the South African said.His writings to the Lord do not give us much confidence. The right-hander played five matches at the venue and scored just 133 runs, including 83 in Tests in 2021. In four white-ball matches, he managed just 29 runs, with 15 wickets in 2018. In fact, his last outing here ended in a 10-ball duck when England beat India by 1000.Hoping to change this, Rohit took part in practice sessions ahead of the third ODI one-on-one Ishan KishanKL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav and Prince Yadav.During the battle which lasted just over an hour, Rohit faced off against Kuldeep, Mayank Yadav and the expert sidearmers. He seemed well-coordinated and in control. During the break, he laughed and joked with the supporting cast members. After he finished he walked to the bench and took off his gear and had a long chat with the coach Gautam Gambhir. Even before the start of the net session, Rohit was seen standing alongside Gambhir and Kotak in the Lord’s balcony, sharing a hearty laugh.Even if this is the last ODI of Rohit Sharma’s illustrious career, the crowd will no doubt turn up in droves to witness one of India’s greatest white-ball players at one of these venues.
