Rohit Sharma (Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry photo)
TimesofIndia.com in Chennai: With Yashasvi Jaiswal scoring his second century in the last three ODIs, the pressure is mounting on the selectors to decide the future of veteran Rohit Sharma. Although the 39-year-old survived a nervy start in the third ODI, he went on to score an eye-catching 79 and scored 170 for the opening wicket with Yashasvi Jaiswal.Rohit, who was given a reprieve early in his innings, took Afghan spinner Rashid Khan to the cleaners before he was dismissed. In the three-match series, his scores were 16, 48 and 79. But are those knocks enough for him to secure his place on the next England tour? And if he does, where does that leave the 24-year-old, who, despite a stalled ODI career, has been in fine form and tried to maximize every opportunity he got?
“It’s a good kind of headache that you get when all your players perform well,” captain Shubman Gill told reporters when asked about India’s opening line-up for the upcoming England tour.“The squad will be announced either tomorrow or in the next couple of days, so we will look at the squad and then choose the best squad in England.”When asked about Jaiswal’s position if everyone is fit, Gill said: “We will have to see where everyone’s fitness stands.
“If everyone is ready, as I said, we will put together the best possible lineup based on that.”
However, the skipper particularly praised Jaiswal and called it “unfortunate” that he did not get a long rope in the ODIs.“We all know he is an exceptional player. It’s not easy for any player because when everyone is available, unfortunately he’s the one who’s gone sometimes,” Gill said.“Since Virat bhai was not available in this series, he got the opportunity to play two matches, and today he played really well.
“I hope he continues this level and continues to seize the opportunities he gets.”
“I think a lot of boxes are checked,” he told broadcasters in the post-match presentation.“We talked about maintaining the intensity in the middle, and one of the things we also discussed is how we can continue to create chances in the middle as a bowling unit, and as a batting unit, how we can continue to push for extra runs in the middle.“Going to England, the conditions will be a bit similar to what we have in South Africa. Not quite the same, but still close. So the kind of mix we’re looking to play over there, and hopefully all the players are fit and ready, should make this another great series for us,” he said.