Madan Lal hails Rohit Sharma after 2026 England series, challenges selectors to drop him

Former Indian all-rounder Madan Lal has showered praise on Rohit Sharma for delivering the goods in the third ODI at Lord’s. Lal said the performance of a player should be the criteria for selection and challenged the selectors to drop Rohit Sharma if they have the courage to do so.

It was earlier reported that Rohit would play his final ODI game at Lord’s, but he answered the critics in style. However, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia downplayed such speculations.

Rohit scored a brilliant knock of 138 runs off 110 balls in the third ODI at the iconic venue on Sunday as he became the first Indian batter to score an ODI century at Lord’s. However, his efforts went in vain as India could not chase down a gargantuan total of 388 runs and lost the series by 2-1.

The veteran batter scored 17 fours and five sixes in his blistering knock as he batted at the top of his game.

Madan Lal said on KADAK YouTube Channel, “Everyone has to retire one day. Whether it’s today or tomorrow, every player eventually has to leave the field. But if Rohit Sharma is performing well and still wants to play, then people should simply stay quiet. If you have the courage, then go ahead and drop him. He’s performing, after all. That’s how it should be. It shouldn’t be that you go to him and say, ‘You’re no longer in our plans.’ He has every right to ask, ‘Why? I’m scoring runs and playing well, so why am I not in your plans?”

The 1983 World Cup-winning player added that India needs a player like Rohit Sharma, who has all the shots in his repertoire.

“I don’t understand why we keep going after players. Anyone who plays for the country cares about their performance. He wants to perform, and he wants to do well. We need a player like Rohit Sharma. The kind of shots he can play and the way he bats, no one else in our team can do that. I’ve never seen anyone in Indian cricket bat quite like him. We’ve had many great players, but the way Rohit bats is different.”

Lal believes Rohit will do his job if he wins two out of the five matches he plays.

“Look, if Rohit Sharma plays five matches and wins just two of them for me, then he’s a very good player for me. No one can win every match, and no captain can lead the team to victory every single time.”

Rohit’s next ODI series will be against the West Indies at home.