​Rohit Sharma walked back to the dressing room in Cardiff on Thursday after managing just 26 runs off 47 deliveries, and that laboured innings might end up being one of his final acts in an Indian jersey.According to The Indian Express, the selection panel has already settled on not retaining him as the team’s automatic pick to open the batting once this England assignment concludes.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIf we go by that report, Sunday’s series-closer at Lord’s could turn out to be the last time the 39-year-old pulls on the national colours.India’s innings folded for 233 in the second match, with Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer the standout performers, striking 65 and 66 respectively to hold the innings together. Once again, England’s fast bowlers found joy off the surface, troubling India’s batting order with extra bounce, a recurring theme through this tour.Add The Sporting News as a preferred news sourceIt is suggested that the Lord’s ODI could be his final ODI game for India. He has already retired from Tests and T20Is, so in a way, it could be his time to hang up his boots, at least from international cricket.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEarlier reporting had already flagged that both the coaching staff and selectors were keen on giving Yashasvi Jaiswal extended opportunities to prepare him for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, and that Rohit’s continued involvement hinged heavily on how he performed in this series.Instead, the management chose to persist with Rohit a little longer, hoping he could rediscover his old touch.That call has since been passed on to the BCCI, and it remains to be seen whether senior board officials step in to speak with Rohit directly, or whether the selection committee handles that conversation themselves.However, a decision on Rohit’s cricketing future beyond this tour is entirely his own call, including whether he continues in the IPL come 2027. Should the selectors leave him out of the ODI setup, there would be little competitive cricket left for him to fall back on, which could push him toward calling time on his own.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementA similar sequence played out during the Border-Gavaskar series in Australia, when he was keen to feature in the Test matches but was informed that his place wasn’t guaranteed, and he subsequently opted to retire from that format himself.India’s talent pool will ensure that a seamless transition takes place when Rohit is left behind.Yashashvi Jaiswal is already waiting in the wings, and the Mumbai cricketer will likely replace Rohit in the 50-over format.Rohit Sharma has a stellar ODI record as he has scored over 11,00 runs in 286 matches. He currently has a batting average of 48.58. and has hit 33 centuries and 62 half-centuries.RecordStatsMatches286Runs11,757Batting average48.058Strike Rate92.76Centuries33Half-centuries62Highest score264Double centuries3150-plus scores8Whatever happens next, Rohit’s body of work in the 50-over f