Rohit Sharma surpasses Mohinder Amarnath to become oldest cricketer…

Former India captain Rohit Sharma on Saturday added another record to his career by becoming the oldest cricketer to play a One-Day International (ODI) for India.Rohit reached the milestone during the rain-shortened first ODI against Afghanistan at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. At 39 years and 75 days, he surpassed former Indian all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath, who was 39 years and 36 days when he played his last ODI for India in 1989. The record is limited to men’s cricket. The oldest Indian woman to play an ODI overall remains former India fast bowler Jhulan Goswami, who played the 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 the age of 40.Rain delayed the start of the match by more than four hours. The game, which was originally scheduled to start at 1:30 PM, finally started at 5:45 PM and was reduced to 25 overs per side.The 39-year-old is expected to feature in India’s ODI World Cup campaign next year. If he plays in the tournament, Rohit could become the first Indian cricketer to feature in ODI cricket in 40 years.In the match, Indian captain Shubman Gill won the toss and decided to field first against Afghanistan. Persistent rain delayed the tossing before the officials settled for 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 match on June 20.Prior to this series, the two teams had only met in ODI World Cups and Asia Cups. India won three of the four matches while the other match ended in a draw.India entered the match having lost three of their previous five ODIs, while Afghanistan entered the series on the back of four consecutive ODI victories. Last week, India beat Afghanistan by an innings and 300 runs in a one-off Test.India handed ODI debuts 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.