“I stood down” says Rohit Sharma on his absence from the test after constant narratives and uncertainties on his ouster.
“I stood down” for SCG Test: ‘It is not a retirement decision’ says Rohit Sharma.
Rohit Sharma has stated that his decision to skip the Sydney Test should not be interpreted as a decision to retire. He believes that people with a “mic, pen, or laptop can’t decide when we should retire” and that “things can change.”
After India’s defeat in the fourth Border-Gavaskar Test in Melbourne, which almost eliminated their prospects of making it to the WTC final, Rohit was responding to media stories in India that had focused his Test future.
“This decision is not a retirement decision,” he told Star Sports during the lunch break on day two of the Sydney Test, in which Jasprit Bumrah is captaining India. “Nor am I going to take myself out of the game.
“I sat out of this match because runs are not coming off my bat. There is no guarantee runs won’t come five or two months down the line. I have seen a lot in cricket that life changes every second, every minute, every day.
“I have confidence in me that things can change, but at the same time I have to be realistic as well. So life won’t change by what people with a mic, pen or laptop write or say. They can’t decide when we should retire, when we should sit out, when we should captain. I am a sensible man, mature man, father of two kids. So I know what I need in life.”
Due to paternity leave, India’s Test and ODI captain, Rohit, was unable to begin the Test series. In order to make room for KL Rahul at the top of the order for the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests, Rohit moved into the middle order after joining the team halfway through the series opener in Perth, which India won by 295 runs.
Rahul moved to No. 3 and Shubman Gill was left out of the starting lineup when Rohit returned to open the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in Melbourne last week. But after two setbacks and a defeat on a thrilling last day, rumours circulated about his position in the starting lineup.
“I made this decision after coming here [to Sydney],” Rohit said. “We had only two days between the matches. On New Year’s, I didn’t want to have this chat with the selector and the coach. But it was in my mind that I am trying my best but I am not getting the runs. I have to accept it and have to get myself out of the way. So I stood down
“The chat that I had with the coach and the selector was very simple: my bat is not scoring runs, I am not in form, this is an important match, and we need players who are in form. As it is, the boys are not in great form. So I had this simple thought in my mind: we can’t carry out-of-form players.
“That’s why I thought I should tell the coach and the selector what’s going on in my mind. They backed my decision. They said you have been playing for so many years, you are the best judge of what you are doing.”