ICC gift wraps a present to Rohit Sharma after Babar Azam tanks; fans can't keep calm: 'Even at 38, he is dominating'

He is 38 years old and in the last phase of his career, but the force known to the world as Rohit Sharma is unstoppable. The India captain, despite not having played for the country since March, made some movement in the men's ranking for ODI batters. The ICC took note of Babar Azam's disappointing series against the West Indies and swapped his place with Rohit's in the top five. Babar, who scored 56 runs from three ODIs against the Windies, drops a position to No. 3, thus implying that Rohit takes the second spot at No. 2 with 756 points, a rung below table-topper Shubman Gill, who leads the pack with 784 points. Rohit Sharma returns to action for India in October(AFP)

Rohit attained his career-best ODI ranking points during the 2019 World Cup, when, after smashing a record-breaking 5th century in the tournament, his numbers rose to 882. Besides Rohit and Gill, the other two Indian batters in the top-10 are Virat Kohli at No. 4 and Shreyas Iyer at No. 8. KL Rahul takes the 15th position. Rohit's rise comes as a boost to the Indian captain as he hits the ground running ahead of his much-awaited India comeback. Rohit hasn't been in action since the end of the IPL 2025, having announced his retirement from Test cricket in May.

Rohit fans, on expected lines, could not keep calm, and going by their posts, are pretty psyched to see the Hitman back on the field soon. Below are some posts:

Rohit Sharma to return in October

Rohit, along with Virat Kohli, was expected to return to competitive cricket this month, as India was scheduled to tour Bangladesh for three ODIs in August. However, the postponement of the series to next year meant that his comeback got delayed to October, when India play three one-dayers against Australia across Perth, Adelaide and Sydney, starting October 19. The Australia series is just the start of a long ODI road ahead for Rohit, who, at 38, finds himself in a race against time to be ready for the 2027 World Cup.

Amid contradictory reports surrounding Rohit's future, the India skipper linked up with former India coach Abhishek Nayar after he returned to the country following a vacation. Some reports also claim that Rohit could be losing his captaincy in ODI to Shubman Gill, since the 25-year-old proved himself in the Test series in England, but the BCCI has yet to address the issue. The board is currently focused on finalising India's squad for the 2025 Asia Cup and then streamlining ideas for India's title defence at next year's T20 World Cup at home.

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