On Wednesday India captain Rohit Sharma dismissed questions about his performance and international cricket future by stating his complete concentration was on the upcoming one-day international series against England and the Champions Trophy.
Despite losing both the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia with a 3-1 defeat and suffering a 3-0 home series loss to New Zealand, Rohit Sharma at 37 rejected thoughts of test retirement amidst his extended poor performance period.
He stepped away from Twenty20 international cricket after India won the World Cup last year but declined to comment on media speculation about retiring from ODIs following the Champions Trophy.
Discussing my future plans seems irrelevant now because we have three ODIs and the upcoming Champions Trophy to focus on. Reports about this topic have been circulating for many years,” Rohit informed reporters during Wednesday’s session.
“I’m not here to clarify them. Currently my top priorities are these three upcoming matches followed by the Champions Trophy. I concentrate on these upcoming matches before deciding on future steps.
The team leadership passes from Suryakumar Yadav who led India to a 4-1 T20 series triumph against England back to Rohit.
Rohit showed irritation in response to questions about his confidence in returning to a format where he excels before India’s Nagpur opener on Thursday.
“What kind of a question is that? These conditions represent a new format and era. As professional cricketers we understand that our careers include highs and lows which I have experienced many times throughout my journey.
Every day is a new day and each series is a brand new series. I’m excited about facing this upcoming challenge. I do not focus on past events.
Many positive moments also happened during this time. I need to concentrate on upcoming events and my future path. It’s as simple as that. I plan to hit a strong start in the series and then we will see how it unfolds.
The veteran batsmen Rohit and Virat Kohli aged 36 have faced criticism for their recent performance while rookie players Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube excelled in the T20 series.
Rohit scored below average 25 in the 14 Tests he played throughout 2024 which marks his lowest yearly batting average.
The decision to skip the final Test in Sydney against Australia led to rumors that he might hang up his boots from Test cricket.
During the previous year Kohli achieved an average score of 24.52 which reflected the broader decline in five-day cricket performance since 2019.
He played his first domestic first-class cricket match for Delhi since 2012 last week to recover his form but ended up with only six runs in his one inning.
India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is under pressure to recover quickly from a back injury so he can play in the Champions Trophy starting February 19 after being unable to finish the Sydney Test against Australia in January.
As soon as Rohit receives his scan report in two days he will provide an update about his recovery and return.
After recovering from his heel injury and experiencing mixed results during domestic cricket matches and a recent T20 series Mohammed Shami will spearhead India’s bowling effort in the upcoming ODIs.
The player hasn’t participated in cricket matches for eighteen months. “Rohit cautioned against swiftly judging players regarding Shami.”
His cricket career spans 10 to 12 years during which he delivered performances for his team. His bowling performance during the World Cup (2023) was exceptional. Getting the expected results in domestic matches is not the sole determinant of his bowling ability.