This follows BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia’s statement on Friday, ruling out Rohit’s retirement at Lord’s. “There is a lot of speculation in the media about Rohit Sharma’s future. I want to firmly state that there has been no question that Rohit will play his last match at Lord’s on Sunday,” Saikia said in a media statement. “Rohit is a regular member of the Indian ODI team and he will continue to represent the country as long as he is in the scheme of things. In other words, the Lord’s ODI will not be his last game,” Saikia added.
While Rohit may not necessarily be guaranteed a place in the squad the next time India play an ODI in September, the innings at Lord’s could be just what he needed to continue talking to the selectors. It is clear that Rohit is living on borrowed time at the moment and runs are his necessary currency. The result may not have gone India’s way, but his 36th ODI century will give him the confidence to take another breather.
Injuries a concern
Meanwhile, Gill also came out strong on recurring injury concerns within the squad. Hardik Pandya is still not back, Nitish K Reddy is out and so is Harshit Rana. While Pandya’s return will be closely monitored, the other two returned from injuries only to go down again before this series. It didn’t help that Washington Sundar was also injured and ruled out midway through the series.
Before the verdict, Jasprit Bumrah suffered a collision injury and missed the match. This meant, India were forced to field six batsmen and five bowlers, which included four tail-enders. It also cost them in the death overs against England, where the hosts smashed 82 runs in the last five overs.
