This question has been asked and answered numerous times. I went through almost all of them and found no consensus. I found that all of the answers can be divided into two categories:
- Friction does work, but that work is converted to rotational kinetic energy: A B C
- Friction does not do work, because the point of contact has no instantaneous displacement/has no relative motion/moves in a cycloid path which is perpendicular to direction of friction acting at that point: D E
The first argument feels sketchy because derivation A is wrong, B does not seem rigorous and C offers none.
The second argument makes sense but reason varies depending on who is answering. I also would like to point out that the force of friction creates a torque which rotates the body about the Centre of Mass and hence does rotational work.
Which answer is correct? If the answer is the first, is a more rigorous derivation available? If the answer is second, how do you explain the work done by torque due to friction in rotating the body?
EDIT: I did not find any of the answers completely satisfactory. I thought for a while and came to a conclusion which I think satisfactorily provides and answer to this question and have added it as an answer.