Indian batsman Rohit Sharma, also termed as limited over apparatus, has said that he is not thinking over his selection in the Test format because half of his career (as a Test player) is now over. The 31-year-old, who has been struggling in cementing his spot in the test cricket, further added that all he wants now is to enjoy his game as much as he can.
“There’s limited time you have as a player and I have finished almost half of it. There’s no point in spending the remaining half thinking whether I’ll be picked or not. I am going forward with the theory of ‘whatever time I have make it count’,” said Rohit about his below-par record in international red ball cricket.
From 35 Tests thus far, the vice-captain of limited-over, Rohit Sharma, has only scored 1479 runs at an average of 39.97. Judging by his capabilities in the limited over fixtures, these numbers can truly be termed as below par. Thanks to his inconsistent performance against South Africa, where he scored just 78 runs in 4 innings, he was dropped from India’s squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Bengaluru, starting June 14.
But despite that, the Mumbai Indians‘ skipper is of the belief that now is not the time for him to worry about his selection as those days are well beyond him.
“For me, I am not at a stage to worry about whether I’ll be picked or not. I need to enjoy my game. The first five-six years of my career, it was all about ‘oh, will I be picked? Will I play’! Now it’s all about enjoying the game. These things keeps adding pressure on you. Instead, it’s best to enjoy yourself in what you do and give your best,” he said.
“I got into the national team when I was 20 and I made my Test debut when I was 26. I had an opportunity to make my debut in 2010, but I missed that (due to an injury while playing football at practice). After that, it made me realise that the more you want, your attitude changes. I have realised there’s time for everything.”
“There has to be time and a slot available for it. The seniors – Sachin, Rahul, VVS and Sourav – were all playing then so we had to wait. After a point, I realised there’s no point thinking about it (selection). No point in thinking about what the selectors are doing and all,” Rohit added.
Being dropped from the squad leaves a toll on players’ mind, but as things stood for Rohit, he seemed relaxed over it.“I was not (surprised by being axed from the Test squad against Afghanistan). As I said, I can only keep enjoying my game. There’s no time to regret about anything. I’ve had enough time to regret in the past. We have got big events coming up, so best to focus on it.”
Adding further to it, Rohit confessed that he isn’t, by any mean, a white ball specialist.“By no means. As a child, all I dreamt of was to play Test cricket and that dream will never be over. Nobody can take away my game or what I think about the game,” an agitated Rohit said.
“Selectors can do what is best in their control, players will do what is in their control. It’s important to keep focus. When I started playing cricket, there was no white ball cricket. We used to play in school, in age-group cricket with red ball. White ball came much later. As a child, you only saw red ball cricket.”
