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NEW DELHI: Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin withdrew his support Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohlisaying that the two senior batsmen cannot simply be dropped if they still want to play for India. Ashwin’s comments came after Rohit silenced retirement talk with a brilliant century in the third and final ODI against England at Lord’s. Although India lost the match by 27 runs and the series 2-1, Rohit’s 138 reminded everyone why he remains one of India’s greatest scorers. Speaking on his YouTube channel Ash ki Baat, Ashwin said, “‘Rohit Sharma aur Virat Kohli ko touch nahi kar payenge (They won’t be able to touch Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma). I can’t touch Virat and Rohit if they want to play. It’s because of their credentials. Rohit has scored almost 12,000 runs; I can’t touch him.”Ashwin said there is another big reason why the two stars are difficult to leave out.“The other thing is, you can’t touch them because they’re hitters. They’ve got an army, a battalion. People come to see them. If you drop them, they’ll just blow your roof off.”Ashwin also pointed out that bowlers do not get the same level of public support as star batsmen.“But if Shami, Siraj or Bhuvneshwar are not selected, 10 people will question. 100 people, 1000 people, maybe 10,000 people will question. But they won’t make a fuss. If a day comes when people make a fuss about a bowler, it would be difficult to dismiss them too.”
Rohit answers critics with Lord’s century
Rohit’s place in ODIs has come under intense scrutiny after reports claimed that he was not considered by the BCCI selection committee for the 2027 ODI World Cup.The India captain had figures of 11 and 26 in the first two ODIs against England before producing an incredible knock in the deciding series.Chasing 388 at Lord’s, Rohit smashed 138 off just 110 balls, hitting 17 fours and five sixes. He kept India’s chase alive almost till the end, though the visitors were eventually bowled out for 27 runs.
‘The noise will be there’
After the match, Rohit made it clear that the speculation about his future has never affected him.In an interview with BCCI.tv, he said that external criticism has always been a part of his career and that his only focus is performing for India.“Look, my job is with the bat… Representing my country… That’s what I’m going to do. The noise… Ever since I made my debut, I’ve been there and till the time I stay here, it will always be there. So it doesn’t really matter too much. What matters is what I do on the field,” Rohit said.
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