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KEY TAKEAWAYS: - BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia dismissed retirement speculation, confirming Rohit Sharma remains firmly in India's 2027 World Cup plans. - Rohit's stunning 138-run knock at Lord's silenced talk of an immediate exit after reports of selectors nudging retirement. - Rohit himself brushed off the constant noise, saying his focus stays on performing rather than reacting to speculation. 'He scored 138 in last game! BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia shoots down Rohit Sharma retirement talk ahead of 2027 World Cup BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia shut down any talk of Rohit Sharma being eased out of the side anytime soon as the veteran batter is "playing superbly," and there's no sign whatsoever that his spot in India's ODI setup is under any real threat. It's been a noisy few months for Rohit. Back in the summer, chatter grew louder that he was on his way out of international cricket altogether, with plenty pointing to the ODI series finale against England at Lord's as a possible farewell appearance. Given he'd already walked away from Tests in 2025 and T20Is a year before that, the timing seemed to add up for a lot of people. However, a blistering 138 off his bat in the third ODI, and suddenly all that talk got put on ice, at least for a while. Things got murkier in August, when a report claimed the selectors had told Rohit after the second ODI that a change was coming, and that a senior BCCI official had been looped in as well. PTI added more fuel to the fire on Wednesday, reporting that Rohit wasn't thrilled with the decision but had gone along with it anyway. Interestingly, Saikia had already come out in Rohit's corner even before that innings, and assured that the batter was still very much part of India's plans heading into next year's World Cup. Again on Thursday, while speaking after a review meeting of the Indian cricket board held in Mumbai, Saikia didn't hold back and insisted: "Rohit Sharma is playing superbly. No need to give fodder to speculation. He scored a century in the last match he played; what more do you want." He stopped short of naming any individual player as being under review, but when the question of Rohit's future came up again, Saikia pushed back firmly, making it fairly obvious that the senior batter still has a role to play at next year's World Cup. Rohit brushed off the retirement noise around his career Rohit himself addressed the constant chatter directly in conversations with the BCCI after the Lord's innings, making it plain he wasn't going to let outside noise steer how he approaches the game. "If there's no noise, there's no fun. My job is inside; their job is outside. That's how I look at it," he said. He went on to add that the noise has followed him since his debut and probably always will, but what actually matters is his contribution out in the middle. "The noise since I made my debut was there," he added. "And till the time I'm going to stay here, it's always going to be there. It doesn't really matter too much. What matters is what I do on the field. I want to try and contribute to the success of the team. That's all my focus is." Rohit will turn 40 during the 2027 World Cup year, so age is naturally part of the conversation now, whether people like it or not. Still, going by Saikia's comments, the board seems focused on backing him rather than nudging him toward the door. His record at the top of the order in ODIs remains hard to argue with, and that's clearly weighing heavily in his favour. That said, succession planning hasn't been forgotten as Yashasvi Jaiswal, already a fixture in Test cricket but still building his ODI resume, looks like the most obvious long-term option waiting in the wings. MORE: Rohit Sharma's 2027 ODI World Cup chances hang in the balance BCCI/Creimas BCCI has taken the right call, for now, but the clock is ticking Backing Rohit at this stage feels like the sensible move, and it's hard to fault the BCCI's thinking here. A player who can still produce an innings like 138 at Lord's, against a quality England attack, hasn't exactly given anyone a reason to show him the door. To drop a batter of his experience purely on the grounds of age, while he's still delivering match-winning knocks, would be premature and honestly a bit reactionary. But here's the thing: backing him now doesn't mean the succession question disappears. India can't afford to wait until 2026 ends to figure out who opens alongside Rohit's eventual replacement. MORE: 'Reason why he lost prime fitness': Fans react as Pant spotted with Dhoni partying Jaiswal needs more ODI opportunities now, not later, so that whenever the transition does happen, it isn't a scramble. The board's job is to walk that line between loyalty to a proven performer and building depth for the future, and so far, they seem to be managing it reasonably well. Rohit's own attitude, tuning out the noise and just focusing on runs, makes this whole situation a lot easier to manage. As long as the runs keep coming, this speculation will keep resurfacing every few months regardless of what anyone says. For all the latest cricket news, opinion, and commentary, and to share your voice, head to our Facebook, Instagram, and X (Twitter) pages.