Rohit Sharma had a dream end to his T20I career. He led India to the 2024 T20 World Cup in Barbados, slammed the ground in euphoria, planted the tri-colour on the ground, lifted the trophy and very casually announced his retirement from the format answering the last question during India's post-match press conference. Rohit's announcement came shortly after another Indian superstar, Virat Kohli had revealed about his decision to retire from T20I cricket, going out as India's leading run-scorer and century-hitter in the format.

But is Rohit going to pull off a Shahid Afridi? Is the India captain planning on coming out of the retirement he announced just over a month ago? The internet is buzzing after Rohit passed certain remarks on the eve of the first ODI between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo. Rohit, who is set to play his first 50-overs match for India since the 2023 World Cup final, said – albeit jokingly – that he still feels rested from T20Is and will be called up whenever a big tournament – in this case the 2026 T20 World Cup or the 2025 Asia Cup in India – will be played.

"This is what I feel like till now. I felt like I've been rested for the T20s, like it used to happen earlier and there will be a big tournament coming up and we have to get ready to T20s again. Still feel it is like that. So I don't think I'm completely out of the format," Rohit said on Thursday.

Sure enough, Rohit said all of this in jest, but fans are hopeful that Rohit, who is most likely targeting the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, may not have hung his boots just yet. It's a different thing that if Rohit decides to take a retirement U-turn and play the next T20 World Cup, he would be 39 by the time, but the internet has pretty much gone into a frenzy ever since the skipper made the comments.

Rohit returns to competitive cricket for the first time since June 29, 2024, a date that is now forever etched in the minds of a billion Indian cricket fans. But the India skipper, along with the rest, is looking forward to the challenge at hand. The World Cup win is now history with Rohit insisting that he has plenty of things to look forward to, reuniting with new head coach Gautam Gambhir and more importantly, the Champions Trophy, preparations for which begin Friday in Colombo.

"In terms of what we want to do - it's not just one particular area we're looking to improve, it's the overall game. In sports, you can't just sit happy doing something. You have to keep moving forward, and you have to keep moving up and challenge yourself. There's always something new to learn when you play a series and when you play a game. Whatever we have done, it was good for that particular time, but time keeps moving forward."

India began the Sri Lanka tour on an emphatic note, blanking the hosts 3-0. The Gambhir-Suryakumar Yadav era couldn't have asked for a better start, as India outperformed Sri Lanka in all three games. That the reigning T20 world champions were able to choke their Asian neighbours from a stage of 28 required off 29 with nine wickets in hand promises to give them ample confidence.

'This is not a practice ground; it's still international cricket'

But even as the action now shifts to the ODIs, one's got to ask himself – is Sri Lanka the kind of opponent India want given the Champions Trophy is seven months away? The 1996 and 2014 world champions are currently ranked 7th in the ODI rankings and have themselves failed to qualify for next year's ICC event. However, none of that matters to Rohit and India, who are keen on bringing out their best irrespective if the opponent or conditions.

"You get asked a lot whether this series is a preparation for the World Cup, or is this a preparation for the Champions Trophy. It's not a practice ground - it's still an international game. We will keep in our minds what we want to achieve, but this is by no means preparation or practice or anything like that. We want to come here and play good cricket and get something out of the series," said Rohit.

"Of course we want to try everything possible, but when you're representing the nation the quality of cricket should remain the way it is, and how we've played over the last few years. That is more important, rather than thinking about it as a preparation and saying let's go out and chill in Colombo. We don't think like that.

"When we play a series and when we play a game, we want to get something out of that. We might tell a bowler: 'We want something different from you.' We might tell a batter: 'This is how we want you to play in the middle overs.' We want to get something out of the series, but not at the cost of going out there and having no intent or purpose. For me, the standard of Indian cricket is more important."