'If there's no noise, there's no fun': Rohit Sharma brushes off ODI retirement speculation, says he's faced criticism since debut

‘If there’s no noise, there’s no fun’: Rohit Sharma brushes off ODI retirement speculation, says he’s faced criticism since debut originally appeared on Cricket News.
Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Rohit Sharma dismisses retirement chatter, calls criticism normal since his debut.
• Scored historic 138 at Lord’s, but India lost the series 2-1.
• Urged patience with India’s inexperienced bowling attack going forward.

Rohit Sharma laughs off retirement talk, says criticism has followed him since day one

Rohit Sharma has broken his silence on the swirling speculation surrounding his ODI future, brushing aside weeks of retirement talk that only intensified around the series-deciding clash against England at Lord’s.

Speaking to BCCI.tv after the match, the veteran opener made it clear that outside chatter about his future doesn’t occupy his mind, insisting his sole focus remains contributing to the team whenever he gets the chance to play.

And on Sunday, he let his batting do most of the talking. Chasing a monumental target of 388 at the Home of Cricket, Rohit produced a stunning 138 off 110 deliveries, striking 17 boundaries and five sixes at a strike rate over 125.

Alongside captain Shubman Gill, who contributed a fluent 77, he built a commanding 147-run opening stand that kept India firmly in the hunt after England had posted a mammoth 387 for 3, built on contributions from Ben Duckett’s 141, Jacob Bethell’s 91 and an unbeaten 74 from Joe Root.

Rohit brought up his century in just 84 balls, marking the moment with a modest fist pump before turning to acknowledge his teammates in the dressing room. 

His innings eventually ended in the 39th over when Bethell had him bowled for 138. Despite a further contribution of 74 from Virat Kohli, India fell agonisingly short, finishing on 360 for 7, 27 runs adrift as England claimed the series 2-1.

Even in defeat, the innings was historic Rohit the first Indian batter to score an ODI century at Lord’s and the oldest Indian to register a century in the format.

Rohit said: “Look, my job is with the bat. Come and play, represent my country, represent the team. That’s what I’ve been told to do since I made my debut. So that’s what I’m going to do. You know, the noise since I made my debut was there. And till the time I’m going to stay here, it’s always going to be there. 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. You know, if there’s no noise, there’s no fun. My job is inside, their job is outside. So that’s how I look at it.”

More to follow…