Till I am playing, there will always be noise: Rohit Sharma
Acutely aware but dismissive of the “noise” around his future in international cricket, veteran Indian batting star Rohit Sharma says he knows that speculation won’t stop till he is playing but he would rather focus on scoring runs instead of fighting it.
With a facile 138 at the Lord’s on Sunday, Rohit could not prevent India’s 27-run loss didn’t look his usual, possibly trying to mask the insult and hurt he must have felt.
“The noise, since I made my debut was there. Till I am going to stay here, it is always going to be there, so it doesn’t really matter too much,” the 39-year-old, who became the oldest Indian centurion and first from the country to score a ton in 50-over cricket, told BCCI.TV.
“What really matters is what I do on the field, try and contribute to the success of the team. That’s where all my focus is. Let the noise be there, if there is no noise there is no fun. My job is inside, their job is outside, that’s how I look at it. “My job is with bat, come and play, represent my country, that’s what I have been told to do since I made my debut, so that’s what I am going to do,” added the man, who is within touching distance of 12,000 ODI runs.
Under pressure, his 34th ODI ton was one of his best knocks in recent times. Rohit said he has always enjoyed playing in England.
“I love playing in England. The atmosphere, the grounds, the pitches, when you turn up to play any format over here, it challenges you in different ways. And that’s what you want as a cricketer. To be challenged in every way possible. I enjoyed out there in the middle,” he said. The century stand with Virat Kohli, who smashed 74, raised visions of an improbable win despite the steep chase of 388. It didn’t happen but their on-pitch understanding was still as smooth as it was a decade and half ago.
