Why the news regarding Rohit's retirement lacks substance

                         

Ritik Sharma (Noida): Before reading this news further, let me clarify that I am not writing this to insult any journalist or to undermine their words. Just as they have their sources, I also have my sources at a certain level. So, let’s get straight to the point. Everyone knows what news was broken yesterday after Rohit got out. Now, I will tell you a few points as to why I believe there is no substance to this retirement news.

Although almost every big organization, journalist, or should I say cricket lover, has believed the claim that Rohit will be seen in the blue jersey for the last time at Lord's. There might be some truth to it, but I completely disagree with the entire report because it is clearly written in the news that it was communicated to Rohit just last week that he is not in the scheme of things for 2027, and Jaiswal will be preferred ahead in ODIs looking at the next World Cup.

The Timing of the Leak

Now the question arises: if it was already communicated to Rohit last week, did the person publishing this report only find out yesterday after Rohit's back-to-back low scores? Why didn't this news come out last week, before the ODIs started, or before the Birmingham or Cardiff matches began? It is something to think about. But as soon as that report came out, all the journalists suddenly woke up, as if they were just waiting for Rohit to fail. What would have happened if, hypothetically, Rohit had scored 30-40 runs in the first ODI and played an innings of 60-70 runs in Cardiff? Would this news have been written? Would the headline of this news have been the same?

But there are plenty of cricket lovers in the world, and people, especially in India, are very emotional about certain players. So, news coming from a big media organization seems one hundred percent correct to them, which is also natural because if people don't listen to and believe the media, its very existence will end. Now that you have read this much of my point, whoever you are, just think for a minute whether there is even a small percentage of reality visible in all these things or not!

Form, Fitness, and the Road Ahead

Rohit's age is being written everywhere now, so I will write it too - Rohit is 39, not a young player who wouldn't know what he needs to do next. He said the exact same thing during the Sydney BGT 2024-25 as well, that he is a father of two children and a sensible man. If he had been told all this last week, why would he even express a desire to play just a 3-match bilateral series? Which clearly means he wants to play until 2027 anyhow; the fitness and the runs we saw from him in Australia earlier were all meant to prove exactly that.

Yes, he has looked out of touch in the last couple of matches, but I personally spoke late last night with the people who watch him practice. They themselves said they are shocked to see Rohit’s current form because he is sweating it out in the nets with full dedication right in front of their eyes. Even the connection between the bat and the ball looks good, but maybe due to some bad luck or sort of pressure, Rohit is currently not finding success in the matches.

Now, you are in the final part of the article, and what I have come to know at a personal level is this - indeed it will be a do-or-die situation for Rohit at Lord's. However, if there is a century or a good fifty there showing good intent, who can make Rohit retire? Moreover, in yesterday's press conference, the batting coach made it clear that a player like Rohit performing poorly in two matches won't make any difference. He further added that there will be no pressure on him. So, I don't think there is any need to give more clarification than this!

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