Yograj Singh Defends Rohit Sharma From Fitness Criticisms: “Play Another 5 Years”

Amidst uncertainties of his future in International cricket, Rohit Sharma gets backing from former teammate's father.

Yograj Singh Defends Rohit Sharma From Fitness Criticisms: “Play Another 5 Years”

Rohit Sharma and Yograj Singh (Image via The Patriot/CricTracker)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

There has been a lot of uncertainty floating around regarding India ODI captain Rohit Sharma‘s future in national colors. Talks about his age, fitness and cricketing abilities have been going around, and question marks have been consistently raised.

Sharma announced his retirement from T20I cricket last year after winning the 2024 T20I World Cup as captain. Sharma, also as a surprise to many, announced his retirement from the Test format prior to the England series, disappointing many fans.

Now that the batter is playing only one format, it is uncertain how long he will continue. Former star all-rounder Yuvraj Singh‘s father, Yograj Singh, who has also played for the country, had his own take on Rohit Sharma‘s fitness and future on the sport, which he shared with CricketNext.

‘Rohit, aapki hume 5 saal aur zarurat hai yaar’ (Rohit, we need you for five more years, man) so please do more for your country, work on your fitness and everything. Put four men on him, make him run 10 kilometres every morning. He has the class to play till 45 years of age, if he wants.

Yograj Singh said

Singh, who is known to be blunt about his takes on the sport, once again didn’t shy away from giving his opinion. He was clear that age and fitness must not be an issue for the caliber that Rohit Sharma possesses as a cricketer. Yograj Singh would like Sharma to continue to play cricket until the age of 45.

Sharma, who is 38 now, just recently won the Champions Trophy as captain of the side. He may not have had the best tournament as a batter but certainly played a match winning knock of 76 in a tricky 252 chase against New Zealand in the final.

With two ICC trophies to his name in two years, despite him getting older by the day, one cannot question his cricketing intelligence. However, with the growing transition in the Indian cricket team, Sharma may have to perform and play some domestic events to fight for a place in the side for the 2027 ODI World Cup.

What do Rohit Sharma’s ODI numbers in recent times suggest about his future in national colors?

There is hardly any doubt in the fans’ minds that Rohit Sharma has been one of the greatest ODI players in world history. With 32 hundreds in the format and more than 11000 runs, he has established himself as one of the white ball greats of the modern era. He also holds the record for the most number of centuries in a single World Cup, when he scored five hundreds in the 2019 mega event.

Rohit Sharma after winning the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Rohit Sharma (via NDTV Sports)

With that, he proved his ability to stay at peak form even in high pressure tournaments. Sharma also adapted to a new style of aggressive batting to make sure his team walks with the current way of ODI cricket, giving his team important starts right at the top.

Remarkably, Sharma has averaged more than 50 in every single year except three since 2013. Years 2017 and 2018 saw the batter breach the 70 mark in ODI averages. One such year of not averaging in the 50s is the current year of 2025. He averages an ordinary 37.75 in 8 games, below par by his standards.

He did get a hundred this year in the format in a series against England, but around that has shown vulnerability. Many put it down to the ultra-aggressive approach he takes right at the start of the innings. However, he started this style of batting in 2023. In the years 2023 and 2024, he averaged more than 50 with the same aggressive style of batting.

Some experts have put it down to him lacking confidence and playing a few unnecessary shots as a result of that. Many say that Sharma is a class apart when he is aggressive but becomes a liability when he becomes reckless, which has been evident this year.

The batter would be aware of what he has done wrong to not stay consistent with the bat. He will look to make amends against a familiar opposition, Australia, in Australia this October.

Also Read: