“I feel bad for him even today”

Former India captain and chief selector Kris Srikkanth revealed apologising to Rohit Sharma for dropping him from the 2011 World Cup squad. India beat Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in an epic final to lift the trophy.

Despite his impressive performances at the time, Rohit Sharma missed out on making history as BCCI’s chairman of selectors, Kris Srikkanth, omitted him from the squad.

In an interview with The Week, Srikkanth revealed that Rohit was left out only due to the team dynamics and the type of squad that was required. Srikkanth expressed having apologised to the star batter and feeling sorry for the decision taken.

“I feel bad for him even today. I told Rohit last year, I am sorry, ‘I am sorry. It’s not by purpose, but it’s just that we want to take those half all-rounders. Our thought process was similar to that of the 1983 World Cup,” he said.

“And at the end of the day, who was the Player of the Tournament? Yuvraj Singh, with the ball and bat. In some matches, Sehwag, Sachin and Suresh Raina would have bowled a few overs. Even Yusuf Pathan is a half all-rounder. So in all these things, unfortunately, what happened, this half all-rounder concept, Rohit Sharma, the poor fellow, could not find a place. He was actually good enough to play in the 2011 World Cup, but poor boy missed out,” he added.

Post-2011, Rohit has been part of three World Cups: 2015, 2019, and 2023. He is yet to win an ODI World Cup and will have his eyes set on the 2027 edition.

Will Rohit Sharma play against CSK?

Rohit Sharma is currently with the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the ongoing IPL 2026 season. MI are set to host the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday, April 23.

Rohit suffered a hamstring injury and missed out against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) and the Gujarat Titans (GT). According to a report in The Times of India, the right-hander was seen hitting the nets on Wednesday. However, it was a light session where he batted for 25 minutes and mainly faced throwdowns.

While a decision on his fitness will be taken right ahead of the game, he could be seen playing as an impact player.