The ‘Number 45’ era is fading in Indian cricket, particularly regarding Rohit Sharma. Rohit, synonymous with the number 45 in Indian cricket, remains a popular figure. After retiring from T20 and Test formats, his ODI career is also reaching its conclusion. Although selected for the ODI series against Australia, he was removed as captain. Following this decision, a post by Rohit went viral, astonishing fans.
The BCCI announced the Indian team for the Australia tour on October 4, with the most significant change being the captaincy. Rohit, who led India to a Champions Trophy win in March, was removed from the ODI captaincy. This signified the end of Rohit Sharma’s reign as captain across all three formats in just over a year. Shubman Gill, who had already taken over the Test captaincy from Rohit, became the new captain of Team India.
Following the announcement of the captaincy change, an old tweet from the former Indian captain resurfaced on social media. This post, from 13 years prior, discussed the numbers 45 and 77. In the tweet, Rohit wrote, “The end of an era (45) and the beginning of a new one (77).”
Number 45 is associated with Rohit, whereas number 77 represents the new captain, Shubman Gill. Gill has consistently worn the number 77 jersey in international cricket since joining the team. Rohit also had a connection to this number. The star batsman made this tweet on September 14, 2012, during preparations for the T20 World Cup. At the time, Rohit wore the number 45 jersey, but his place in the team was uncertain and his performance inconsistent. He wore the number 77 jersey during that World Cup.
Rohit’s connection with number 45 is strong, making it easy to forget he once wore number 77. Now, by coincidence, the same number 77 is replacing him as the Indian captain after 13 years. When Rohit’s post appeared, fans were surprised and jokingly called him a future predictor. Some fans commented that Rohit had foreseen his own future.