Indian captain Rohit Sharma on Wednesday played down speculations about his future in international cricket, saying it is irrelevant to talk about his career at a time when he is “focussed” on the three ODIs against England and the Champions Trophy.
India will tune up for the Champions Trophy, starting February 19, with the three One-Day Internationals against England beginning with the first one here on Thursday. “How it is relevant that I talk about my future plans when there are three ODIs and a Champions Trophy. The reports (on my future) are going on for a number of years and I am not here to clarify those reports,” Rohit said at the pre-match press conference.
“For me, the three games (against England) and the Champions Trophy is very important. My focus is on these games and I will see what happens thereafter,” the India skipper added. The 37-year-old has been battling poor form for a while now, managing only 31 runs across five innings at an abysmal average of 6.20 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
While there is no doubt that he is not looking to walk into international sunset anytime soon, there were reports that the BCCI has asked him to spell out his future plans after the Champions Trophy. With India now competing in ODI cricket, a format in which Rohit has enjoyed a lot of success, the skipper stressed that instead of harping on the past, he is focussed on the assignments ahead of him.
“This is a different format, different time. As cricketers, there will be ups and downs and I have faced those a lot in my career. This is nothing new to me. We know everyday is a fresh day, every series is a fresh series,” and irate Rohit said when asked how confident he is feeling after his recent failure in red-ball cricket.
“I am looking forward to the challenge, not looking at what has happened in the past. There is no reason for me to look behind too much. It’s important that I focus on what is coming up and what lies ahead for me. Look to try and start this series on a high,” he added.
India have played only two ODI series — against South Africa and Sri Lanka — since their dominant run in the 2023 World Cup, where they lost just one match — the final — while playing an aggressive brand of cricket under Rohit’s leadership.
“There is a certain style and brand of cricket we want to play. Whether that means replicating what we did in the World Cup, we will try to do that.” “But the World Cup was one and a half years ago, so we need to regroup and assess what is required for this series.”
The Indian skipper emphasised that the players in the team are experienced enough to understand their roles and responsibilities. “We don’t need to keep instructing players on how to prepare for every series. They know what is expected of them. It’s about coming together and picking up from where we left off during the World Cup.
“If it takes some time, so be it. It’s not easy to immediately replicate what we did back then. We need to start fresh and build momentum.”
Choosing between Rahul and Pant good headache
Rohit said the choice between KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant as the team’s wicketkeeper in ODIs is a good headache to have but hinted that the former is likely to retain his role. Rahul had kept wickets in Pant’s absence during the 2023 World Cup, in which he performed with considerable success.
“KL has been keeping wickets for us in the ODI format for a number of years now and he has done pretty well. If you look at the last 10-15 ODIs, he has done exactly what the team required him to do. “Rishabh as well, he is there. We have got an option of playing either one of them. Both are quite capable of winning games on their own.
“It’s a good headache to have whether to play KL or Rishabh. But looking at what we have done in the past, having that continuity is also very important for us. That is where we stand as a team,” Rohit said. India have added Varun Chakravarthy to the ODI squad and Rohit said the in-form mystery spinner will get a chance to play if the opportunity arises.
“Varun has certainly shown something different. I understand that it is a T20 format but he’s clearly got something different about him. So we just wanted to have an option and see what we can do with him.
“If the series presents us an opportunity to play him at some stage and we will see what he’s capable of. Right now, we are not thinking about whether we’re going to take him (to Champions Trophy) or not. “But definitely, he will be in contention if things pan out really well for us and he does what is required.”
Rohit threw his weight behind veteran pacer Mohammed Shami who has been included into the CT squad despite an underwhelming domestic games post his return from injury. “He has not played cricket for 1 or 1.5 years. Don’t judge the player so soon. He has been playing cricket for the last 10-12 years and has won us matches single-handedly.”
Rohit added that the team is awaiting scan reports that will determine Jasprit Bumrah’s availability in the coming days.
