IANS had reported that the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee were unlikely to pick Rohit in the ODI format after the third and final game of the series, currently tied at 1-1, at Lord\u2019s in London on Sunday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Ashwin also stated that if the decision-makers had already resolved to move past the legendary pair for the upcoming mega event in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, the roadmap should have been explicitly communicated to them immediately after India's Champions Trophy triumph in March 2025.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cYashasvi Jaiswal is pushing hard from behind. But if, as a selector, coach, captain or whoever the decision-maker is - if you\u2019ve already decided in your mind that these players are not going to the 2027 World Cup, and you don\u2019t want them\u2026 then that should have been communicated immediately after the Champions Trophy. I know it\u2019s a double-edged sword,\u201d Ashwin said on his YouTube show Ash Ki Baat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Acknowledging that being phased out is never easy for any cricketer, Ashwin stated that transparent communication remains vital to prevent senior players from feeling unwanted in the dressing room. \u201cIf you go and tell players that you want to move on from them, no player will feel good about it. Even if the selectors or the coach had come to me in Australia and said, \u2018We want to move past you. We\u2019re done with you.\u2019<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI would also have felt bad. I\u2019d think, \u2018One bad series\u2026 is that enough? Every player is allowed one poor series.\u2019 That\u2019s how every player would feel. But once it\u2019s done, you can at least say, \u2018Okay\u2026 the communication was clear,\u2019\u201d he observed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Questioning the timing of the current uncertainty, Ashwin expressed bewilderment over why the situation has been allowed to linger with less than a year left for the global event\u2019s commencement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cMaybe it has already happened in Rohit\u2019s case. Maybe it has happened in Virat\u2019s case. Virat has been excellent. Rohit has been more than decent. So why have we allowed this to drag on until August 2026\u2026 \u2026when there are only 10-12 months left before the 2027 World Cup in South Africa? Why has it come this far? That\u2019s my only question.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Questioning the timing of the current uncertainty, Ashwin expressed bewilderment over why the situation has been allowed to linger with less than a year left for the global event\u2019s commencement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re in a house where people don\u2019t want you to stay, can you really live comfortably in that house? We\u2019re going to South Africa in September-October. Do we need Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma? If you ask me, I would want that experience,\u201d concluded Ashwin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n