CHENNAI: Shortly after Rohit Sharma made a statement century (138) in India's 27-run loss to England in the third ODI at Lord's on Sunday, skipper Shubman Gill dismissed the speculations about the 39-year-old's retirement.
After two low scores in England, multiple reports and speculations emerged on Rohit's future. The air was filled with murmurs that the selectors are ready to move on and the third ODI at Lord's will be Rohit's last match in India colours. The Mumbai batter, who has expressed his desire to continue and win the 2027 ODI World Cup on multiple occasions, came out all guns blazing with a vintage century in the 388-run chase.
He scored a 84-ball hundred before getting out for 138 from 110 balls. From thereon, India crumbled before following short in the end. Shortly after the match, Gill said that Rohit has not told the team anything about his retirement in the post-match press conference. "We have not had a chat. He's not told us anything. I think it's all out in the media, but there's not been any discussion like that," Gill said.
This comes after the statement from BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia on Friday ruling out Rohit's potential retirement at Lord's. "There are a lot of speculations going on in the media about Rohit Sharma's future. I want to firmly assert that there has been no such discussion that Rohit will be playing his last match at Lord's on Sunday," Saikia said in a statement to the media. "Rohit is a regular member of the Indian ODI team and he will continue to represent the country as long as he is in the scheme of things. In other words, Lord's ODI won't be his last match," Saikia added.
Though Rohit may not necessarily be guaranteed a spot in the squad the next time India play an ODI in September, the innings at Lord's might just be what he needed to keep the conversation going with the selectors. It is clear that Rohit is living on borrowed time at the moment and runs are his necessary currency. The result may not have gone India's way, but the 36th ODI century will give him the confidence to get another lease of life.
Injuries a concern
Meanwhile, Gill also came out strongly on the recurring injury concerns within the squad. Hardik Pandya is still not back, Nitish K Reddy is out of action and so is Harshit Rana. While Pandya's return will be closely monitored, the other two came back from injuries only to go down again before this series. It did not help that Washington Sundar too got injured and was ruled out in the middle of the series.
Ahead of the decider, Jasprit Bumrah sustained an impact injury and missed the match. It meant, India were forced to play six batters and five bowlers, which included four tail-enders. It also cost them in the death overs against England where the hosts smashed 82 runs in the last five overs.
"If you look at the first squad that we announced, we didn't play this match with at least five players. So if one player is injured, we have to play a different combination. If two players are injured, we have to play a different combination. I think after every match, if we are missing a player, we are missing a few tricks. If you look at the World Cup, we have played 11 matches in a row. And the players are not able to finish two-three matches in a row. There is something missing somewhere. Our players are not able to play a match in a row.
They play one-two matches. If something goes wrong, we are forced to play a different combination which we don't think we have to play. So looking at all these things, it is difficult," Gill rued.
"One day in the morning, if you get a call that someone is injured and then it's almost like you want to take a chance. If someone is 80% fit, you are playing with five bowlers. If he leaves five bowlers and comes out, who will you play with? So all these things run in the mind. It is difficult," said the skipper apparently expressing his frustration.
