Rohit Sharma’s comeback to ODI cricket didn’t go as planned. Playing his first match for India since the 2025 Champions Trophy — and his first as a specialist batter after losing the captaincy — Rohit was dismissed for just 8 runs against Australia in Perth.
Facing Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, the 39-year-old looked uncomfortable. On the fourth ball of the fourth over, Hazlewood bowled a perfect delivery outside off stump. Rohit went for a cover drive but edged the ball to slip, where Matt Renshaw took an easy catch.
It was a disappointing outing for Rohit in his 500th international match, a major career milestone. Having retired from Tests and T20Is, he is now focusing only on ODIs. However, his poor start has raised questions about his future in the format.
Rohit also missed the chance to move up in India’s all-time ODI run-scorers list. He needed 54 runs to overtake Sourav Ganguly (11,221 runs) and become India’s third-highest ODI run-getter — but managed to score only four.
