‘Age is just a number’: Ex-India chief selector Chetan Sharma backs Rohit Sharma to continue playing ODIs | Cricket News

MUMBAI: For the last year or so, Rohit Sharma has gone into every series with growing speculation over his future. The departure of current chief selector Ajit Agarkar – which will become official after October 4, the last date of his tenure – has again turned the spotlight on the former India skipper. It is widely believed that Agarkar’s fallout with the BCCI on Rohit’s future could be the catalyst in the former India and Mumbai pacer not seeking an extension of his tenure. On September 3, after a review meeting at its headquarters in Mumbai, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia once again sought to quash the uncertainty around Rohit’s ODI future.Amidst a raging debate on the issue, former India pacer and chief selector Chetan Sharma has given a thumbs-up to the 39-year-old Rohit continuing to wear India’s ODI jersey.“I can understand that people are saying a hundred things. I have been a cricketer too, so I respect and love them as cricketers. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are the ‘Kohinoors’ of Indian cricket. Age is just a number. If they are good, then why not (can they continue). I myself was a selector. Rohit recently scored a century (138 against England at Lord’s in third ODI on July 19). Virat, every game he gets one. Then what is the problem? We want players who can win games for us, and they both are capable of doing it,” Sharma told TOI on Monday.Sharma, the first bowler to take a hat-trick in ODI World Cup history (in 1987 against New Zealand at Nagpur), confessed that he was a big fan of the superstar batters. “I love watching them when they come and bat for India and they win trophies for us. Rohit won us a trophy after so many years (when he captained India to their second T20 World Cup triumph, and first in 17 years). We should be grateful. We should not listen to other people,” Sharma stressed, while talking at an event in Mumbai.Asked specifically if he wished Rohit and Kohli to play in the ODI World Cup next year, Sharma, who played 23 Tests and 65 ODIs from 1984-94, picking up 128 wickets, replied by saying, “If they are fit, they are getting the runs, then why not? I am asking this question to everyone.”Considering that presently, Agarkar is apparently not keen to continue because of differences on Rohit’s international future, how would Sharma, who was India’s chief selector from Dec 2020-Feb 2023, have handled the situation had he been in Agarkar’s place? “I won’t go into that. When I was the chief selector, we made Rohit the captain. We trusted him, that’s why we made him the captain. Virat was always an asset for Indian cricket. As I said, if they are fit, they are getting runs for India, then we should be happy,” Sharma asserted.Sharma was pleased that the BCCI has now made it mandatory for all the India players to play domestic cricket as long as they were fit and available. “When I was the India chief selector, my thinking was that if you are doing well in domestic cricket, you should be given a chance. The BCCI spends so much money and effort to organise domestic cricket. We have to respect domestic cricket. Recently, I saw an article that the BCCI told everyone about domestic cricket. So, my dream has come true, and I am really thankful to the BCCI for this. You must play in the Ranji Trophy or first- class cricket if you are fit,” Sharma felt.Sharma, meanwhile, backed both the India women’s and men’s teams to clinch the gold medal in the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi Nagoya in Japan. The Indian women’s team will play Sri Lanka in the gold medal clash on Tuesday, while Shreyas Iyer & Co will launch their campaign in the quarterfinals on September 28.