India’s UK tour has been nothing to write home about. In nine white-ball games, India have won only one, lost seven, and one game ended without a result. Fans were highly optimistic when the Men in Blue clinched the first one-dayer. But that emotion soon evaporated after England clawed their way back to level the series at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.
Both teams now find themselves at the ‘home of cricket’ with the series firmly poised. Lord’s is expected to draw massive attention from fans on Sunday, but that is not only because the series hangs in the balance. The spotlight will also be on India’s opener, Rohit Sharma.
Also read: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma ‘remain a very integral’ part of Team India, says captain Shubman Gill
Since the emergence of a report from the Indian Express, which claimed that the Lord’s ODI might turn out to be the last game of Rohit’s international career, social media is rife with all sorts of speculative content. However, the BCCI secretary, Devajit Saikia, has quashed all those rumours and asserted that there has been no discussion around Rohit’s future and he will continue to represent India as long as he is in the scheme of things of the selection committee.
Rohit Sharma aims to play a match-winning knock to take India over the line
While Saikia’s statement has allayed the fears of the fans to an extent, they are still apprehensive of the unknown. Rohit, who has already bid adieu to T20Is and Tests, is tight-lipped about the reports.
He hasn’t had the best of starts to the ODI series. With scores of 11 and 26, Rohit has had starts but hasn’t been able to convert them into anything substantial. The series decider is a magnificent opportunity for the Hitman to silence all the doubts and make everyone know yet again that he is going nowhere.
