Former Indian Test opener Wasim Jaffer believes Rohit Sharma should take his time in ODIs rather than try to play aggressively, like he used to do in T20Is. Rohit returned with scores of 16 and 48 in the first two ODIs against Afghanistan in the ongoing series. The Indian veteran has all the experience under his belt and he is going to hold the key at the top of the order.

Meanwhile, Rohit recently scored 283 runs in nine matches of IPL 2026 at an average of 35.38 and a strike rate of 157.22 for the Mumbai Indians.

Rohit has scored 11641 runs in 284 ODI matches at an impressive average of 48.71 and a strike rate of 92.86. The talisman has scored 33 ODI centuries and 61 half-centuries in the 50-over format.

After losing the T20 World Cup semifinals in 2022, Rohit decided to change his batting approach and played with an aggressive approach in the white-ball formats.

“I feel Rohit will be a bit aggressive but I don’t think you need to play such a high-risk game in 50-overs compared to T20. He is an attacking player as it is. India has a strong batting line-up too. So that kind of game which we play in T20 is not needed. I feel he will be looking to play aggressively but it is important to set the base,” Wasim Jaffer said on his YouTube channel.

Meanwhile, Yashasvi Jaiswal opened the innings for India in the second ODI against Afghanistan but Jaffer reckons Indian captain Shubman Gill won’t give away his opening slot.

“I don’t think Gill would want to leave that opening spot. Number four will be too late for him. Shreyas is there. Rahul comes after that. The spot is very tight. I feel Rohit and Shubman will be seen opening once Virat comes. Jaiswal had a great chance. You will not get chances easily, and you need to make the most. From sometime, Yashasvi is looking off-color. He has to step up. He has to stay aware too,” he stated.

The third ODI between India and Afghanistan will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Saturday.