Amid rumours of retirement from test cricket after opting out of the final match at Sydney in the ongoing Border Gavaskar tournament following his horrendous form, Indian captain Rohit Sharma has hit out at critics and denied taking any such decisions. During the lunch break on the second day of the fifth test, Rohit Sharma cleared the air on the ongoing speculations over his retirement while speaking to former Indian fast bowler Irfan Pathan.
” I am not in form, and we need a player who is in form for this match as it is a very important one for the team, I made this decision after speaking with the coach and selectors. I am not going anywhere, this is not a retirement decision. I am out of the game just because of my poor form”, asserted Rohit.
“Runs are not coming now, but not guaranteed it’ll not come 5 months later. I’ll work hard. People on the outside sitting with laptop, pen and paper don’t decide when retirement will come and what decisions I need to take,” he added.
Rohit Sharma didn’t play the first test at Perth in which India registered a historic victory under Bumrah’s captaincy. He returned to the team from second test but failed to contribute with his bat. India lost two out of the next three tests and is now on the brink of elimination from Test Championship Final. Sharma could score a single fifty in the three matches and faced acute criticism from Indian supporters.
There have been demands to sack Rohit Sharma from test team and captaincy as well due to the dismal performance of the team in the last few series. After keeping himself out of the final test, many have expected that he will make a call on his retirement after the Sydney test. But, his latest statement came as a big surprise to everyone.