‘People will ask questions. You can’t stop them': Ashwin reacts to Rohit Sharma losing cool on poor form query
Reacting to Rohit Sharma's poor form, Ashwin said people will ask questions. The only way to stop them from asking questions is by performing well.
Ravichandran Ashwin feels for Rohit Sharma, who is horribly out of form but he also sees logic in questioning the prolonged lean patch of the India captain. In the lead-up to the ODI series, Rohit lost his cool when a journalist asked whether he was feeling more comfortable after returning to white-ball cricket after a string of low scores in Test cricket.
"What sort of a question is that?" an irritated Rohit asked before going on to add that it's a different format. "This is a different format, different time. As usual, as cricketers, we know there will be ups and downs. I have faced that a lot in my career. This is nothing new to me. We know that every day is fresh, and every series is a new one. I am looking forward to the challenge. Not looking at the past. Clearly, you don't. So I don't have any reason to look at the past."
That was not the only time Rohit appeared to lose his cool during Wednesday's press conference. Towards the end, another reporter asked whether the reports about the BCCI asking for clarity about his future after the Champions Trophy were true.
"How is it relevant that I talk about my future plans sitting here where there are three ODIs and a Champions Trophy coming in?" Rohit said in reply. "The reports are going on for a number of years but I am not here to clarify those reports. My focus is on these games, we will see what happens afterwards."
'I feel for Rohit but people will ask questions: Ashwin
Ashwin said people will ask questions. The only way to stop them from asking questions is by performing well.
"This is not easy. If you look at it from Rohit's POV, then obviously, it is frustrating for him. He wants to concentrate on the series. He thinks that I've done well in this format, and I'd like to continue. I'm going into the tournament with a lot of confidence on the back of the one-day tournaments that I've played. But people will ask questions. The ones who are watching will obviously ask. It's a catch-22 situation. You can't stop these questions. When will they stop? When he performs," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Rohit was dismissed for 2 of 7 balls in the first ODI in Nagpur, which India won by four wickets. The Indian captain has managed just 166 runs in his 16 innings across formats. Ashwin said that he will pray for Rohit to score a century in the remaining two matches of the series.
"But as a cricketer, I understand what Rohit is going through. It's not easy. I pray that he does well and scores a century in this series," he added.
The second ODI will be played in Cuttack on Sunday.
