Former India cricketer Yograj Singh has always been the one to speak his mind, and that didn't change as he came out strongly in support of Rohit Sharma, lauding the ODI captain’s class and longevity while taking a swipe at his critics. Having already retired from T20Is and Tests, Rohit's appearances going forward will be relatively sporadic, with ODIs being on a wane in the international calendar. Yograj, however, believes the star opener still has plenty to offer, provided he pushes his fitness to the limit.
Rohit's most recent international outing came in March, when he guided India to Champions Trophy glory with a match-winning 76 off 83 balls against New Zealand in the final, an innings that earned him the Player of the Match award.
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That knock, Yograj argued, was proof enough of Rohit’s unmatched quality in 50-over cricket. “The man about whom so many people speak rubbish, Rohit Sharma — I said that day that Rohit will be my man, the man, my man,” Yograj told News18 CricketNext.
“The way he batted, his batting one side and the rest of the team’s batting on the other side. His innings on one side and the rest of the world on the other. That’s his class. You can say, ‘Rohit, aapki hume 5 saal aur zarurat hai yaar’ (Rohit, we need you for five more years, man) so please do more for your country, work on your fitness and everything. Put four men on him, make him run 10 kilometres every morning. He has the class to play till 45 years of age, if he wants.”
{{/usCountry}}“The way he batted, his batting one side and the rest of the team’s batting on the other side. His innings on one side and the rest of the world on the other. That’s his class. You can say, ‘Rohit, aapki hume 5 saal aur zarurat hai yaar’ (Rohit, we need you for five more years, man) so please do more for your country, work on your fitness and everything. Put four men on him, make him run 10 kilometres every morning. He has the class to play till 45 years of age, if he wants.”
{{/usCountry}}Yograj, never one to mince words, reserved some of his fiercest criticism for those who question Rohit’s fitness or ability without having played high-level cricket themselves. “I believe you should play domestic cricket; the more you play that, the fitter you’ll be. Who got the Man of the Match in the final? Rohit Sharma. So you should only talk about things that you know. If you want to talk about his game and fitness, do that only if you have played at some level. Do you feel ashamed for talking like this?” he said.
Rohit's future
While there has been no official confirmation on Rohit's future, there have been reports stating that both Rohit and Virat Kohli might consider stepping away from the ODIs after the upcoming Australia series. The decision may stem from BCCI's planned policy for players to take part in domestic white-ball tournaments, which, in the duo's case, would be the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
As of now, Rohit continues to remain the captain of the Indian ODI team.