Former India captain Rohit Sharma added another record to his career on Saturday, becoming the oldest male cricketer to play a One-Day International (ODI) for India.Rohit achieved the feat during the rain-shortened first ODI against Afghanistan at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.
At 39 years and 75 days, he has surpassed former India pacer Mohinder Amarnath, who was 39 years and 36 days when he played his last international match for India in 1989.
The record is limited to men’s cricket. Overall, the oldest Indian to play an ODI remains former women’s fast bowler Jhulan Goswami, who played her last ODI against England at Lord’s in 2022 at the age of 39 years and 303 days. No Indian cricketer has represented the country in ODI cricket after turning 40.Rain delayed the start of the match for more than four hours. The game, which was scheduled to start at 1:30pm, eventually started at 5:45pm and was reduced to 25 overs per side.The 39-year-old is also expected to be part of India’s ODI World Cup campaign next year. If he plays in the tournament, Rohit could become the first Indian cricketer to play in ODI cricket after the age of 40.In the match, India captain Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to bowl first against Afghanistan.
Persistent rain delayed the draw before officials decided to hold a 25-overs-per-side contest.The ongoing series is the first bilateral ODI series between India and Afghanistan. The second ODI will be played in Lucknow on June 17, while Chennai will host the final on June 20.Before this series, the two teams had only met in the ODI World Cup and Asia Cup finals. India won three of their four matches, while the other match ended in a draw.India went into the match having lost three of their previous five ODIs, while Afghanistan went into the series on the back of four consecutive ODI wins. Last week, India defeated Afghanistan by an innings and 300 runs in a one-off Test.India handed their ODI debut to left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey and fast bowler Gurnoor Brar. While Rohit returned to the international squad, Virat Kohli was unavailable due to a hamstring injury.