India, Sept. 11 -- With 11 seemingly innocuous words, Rohit Sharma has set off a fresh round of speculation not of his own making.

"October 2027 is far away, we will see about it then," the former India skipper replied to a pointed question from a member of the audience at a function in Mumbai on Thursday about his presence at the next 50-over World Cup, in southern Africa. It's no more than what one would expect from any individual; 13 months is a long time, so much can happen from form and fitness perspectives, and no one can offer any guarantee about what the future holds. But given the unfair lens through which Rohit has been viewed for nearly a year now, it is inevitable that whatever his answer might have been would have been gone ...