 "India captain Rohit Sharma celebrates after completing his century on Day 2 of the fifth Test against England in Dharamsala. AP")
India skipper Rohit Sharma insisted he’s in the form of his life at present, and that he will hang up his boots at a moment’s notice the day he feels he’s “not good enough”.
Rohit led from the front in India’s thumping innings and 64-run victory over England in the fifth and final Test against Dharamsala scoring 103 during the hosts’ only innings, his second of the series. The massive win helped India, who had already retained the Anthony D’Mello Trophy with their five-wicket win in Ranchi, win the series that is the final assignment of their home season by a 4-1 scoreline.
“One day, when I wake up and feel, I am not good enough then I will retire straightaway. But in the last few years I am playing the best cricket of my life,” Rohit told JioCinema after the fifth Test ended in less than three days.
Read | ‘India youngsters responded pretty well, credit for series win goes to entire team’: Rohit
Rohit has been India’s best Test batter in the last five years, having struck nine centuries since 2019, the year he started opening the innings in the longest format.
The BCCI had also confirmed that Rohit will lead the Indian team in the upcoming T20 World Cup being jointly hosted by the West Indies and the USA.
In January, he scored a whirlwind century against Afghanistan in a T20I to show his hunger to score runs and also to lead the side.
Crediting the team, especially the younger members, for the series win against England he said, “When you win a Test like this, everything has to fall in place. At some stage people are gonna (go) and people are gonna come and we know that.
Impact Shorts
View All“These (young) guys are maybe short of experience, they have played a lot of cricket and I can stand here and see that these guys responded pretty well under pressure. The credit goes to the entire team and it was pleasing to see.”
Read: India equal win-loss record in Test matches in massive turnaround
Yashasvi Jaiswal stood out with his twin double centuries, while Shubman Gill struck two centuries as they complemented the skipper, who himself had two tons to his credit in the series.
The skipper added that India are typically slow to start in a Test series but get up to speed soon, adding that he was disappointed that the Test series against South Africa last year was just a two-game affair.
India lost the opening Test but came back strongly to defeat the Proteas and level the series in the second match.
“We typically lose the first Test and then improve in the subsequent matches, so I was disappointed that we only played a two-match Test series in South Africa,” said Rohit.
He added that while the talk centered around players scoring centuries, due credit should also be give to the bowlers for taking 20 wickets.
“When you win a series like this, we talk about scoring runs and 100s but it is important to take 20 wickets to win a Test. The way bowlers took responsibility was pleasing to see.
“It was over a period of time that we had a conversation (with Kuldeep Yadav), he’s got a lot of potential and when the chips were down in the first innings (in Dharamsala), he bowled really well.
“After his injury, he came back and worked at the NCA and he is putting a lot of effort and the most pleasing thing was his batting,” added Rohit.
With PTI inputs