LONDON: India opener Rohit Sharma put retirement speculation to rest, saying that his sole focus is on performing for his team.
Rohit, 39, has remained in the spotlight in recent months due to his inconsistent scores. As a result, several media reports in India claimed that he would call time on his international career at Lord’s with the Indian selectors looking beyond him.
As the speculation grew, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Devajit Saikia came forward and clarified Sharma’s future.
Amid the buzz, Rohit responded perfectly with a 137 at the iconic Lord’s in the series decider against England — the highest ODI score by an Indian player at the venue.
Speaking after his record-breaking, Sharma said his job was to perform for the team.
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“My job is with the bat, come and play, represent my country, represent my team. That’s what I have been told to do since my debut, so that’s what I am going to do,” Sharma said in an interview on the website of the BCCI.
He acknowledged the criticism and said he had dealt with it for a long time.
“The noise since I made my debut was there. And till the time I am going to stay here, it is always going to be there.”
Sharma said he wanted to contribute to his side and that remained his only aim amid retirement talk.
“So it doesn’t really matter too much. What matters is what I do on the field, try and contribute to the success of the team. That’s all my focus is right now. And let the noise be there. If there is no noise, there is no fun,” he concluded.
Despite Rohit Sharma’s knock, India lost the ODI series 2-1, marking an end to a dismal tour of Ireland and England in which they failed to win a series.
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