'Rohit Sharma will continue to represent India; Lord's ODI won't be his last': BCCI

NEW DELHI: The final ODI against England at Lord's on Sunday will not be Rohit Sharma's last match for India. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia dismissed all retirement rumours and confirmed that the senior batter remains an important part of India's ODI plans.There had been speculation that the 39-year-old had been told by the selectors that they wanted to move on and give Yashasvi Jaiswal an extended run in the team. However, Saikia made it clear that there has been no such discussion."There are lot of speculations going on in media about Rohit Sharma's future. I want to firmly assert that there has been no such discussion that Rohit will be playing his last match at Lord's on Sunday," Saikia told PTI.Saikia also confirmed that Rohit remains in India's plans."Rohit is a regular member of the Indian ODI team and he will continue to represent the country as long as he is in the scheme of things. In other words, Lord's ODI won't be his last match," the BCCI secretary confirmed.It is understood that the BCCI leadership was not pleased with the way chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir handled the matter. Saikia reportedly issued the official clarification after discussions involving all the stakeholders.An influential former BCCI official, along with Saikia, is also understood to have played a role in resolving the issue.According to reports, Rohit was unhappy that he was informed about the decision before an important match and had expressed his disappointment over the way a senior player was being treated.Saikia reiterated that Rohit will continue to play for India as long as "he is in the scheme of things".Rohit is currently 13 matches away from joining the exclusive club of players with 300 ODI appearances.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.