London: Former India captain Rohit Sharma, who smashed a mammoth century in the third and final ODI against England at Lord’s, dismissed growing speculation about his retirement.
Chasing a tough target, India lost by 27 runs, but Rohit’s 110-ball 138 ultimately saw the visitors down.
Reflecting on the series, Rohit admitted the result was disappointing but believed India had played quality cricket.
“A bit disappointed at the end. I thought we played good cricket,” Rohit told BCCI.tv after the match.
“The way we started in Birmingham, we played good cricket. We fell a little bit with the bat at Cardiff – not enough scores on the board. Here at Lord’s, it was a big total for the chase.
“We tried our best with the bat but fell again by 27 runs.”
Notably, the century came amid intense debate over Rohit’s future in international cricket. The 39-year-old responded in emphatic fashion, becoming the first Indian player to score an ODI century at Lord’s.
Rohit registered his eighth ODI century for England in the match, equaling Marcus Trescothick’s tally and trailing only Joe Root, who leads the list with 10 centuries.
Rohit said he prefers playing in English conditions because of the challenges they present.
I love playing in England, there’s no doubt about that.
“The atmosphere, the ground, the pitches – any format you come back here to play, it challenges you in different ways, that’s what you want as a cricketer.
“You want to be challenged all the time, and I had my time in the middle. I enjoyed it.”
During his innings, Rohit shared a crucial 113-run partnership with Virat Kohli as the experienced duo looked to guide India towards the set target.
The opener praised his long-term batting partner, highlighting the understanding they have developed over the years.
“Virat and I have played together our entire career, so it was nice to have him in the middle.
“We have a lot of partnerships. We understand each other well and batting is always fun.
“It’s always good in the middle, bouncing ideas around and trying to see what we can do. We had a lot of conversations when we were batting.”
India, however, missed out on the services of fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah as their relatively inexperienced bowling attack struggled to contain England at the home of cricket.
Rohit urged the young bowlers to be patient, saying they would improve with experience.
When it comes to bowling, you have to understand that these guys haven’t played much ODI cricket.
“You have to give them some time. We can learn from this game, take it in our stride and hopefully when we face a similar situation again, we can do better.
“We have to move on from this and see how we can move forward as a team, not as individuals. It takes a collective effort, and that’s what the team needs to focus on.”
With India continuing to shape its final squad as next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup approaches, Rohit insisted that he is focused on contributing to the team’s success rather than focusing on speculation about his future.
“My job is with the bat – to come and play, represent my country and represent my team. That’s what I’ve been told to do since I made my debut and that’s what I’m going to do.
“The noise has been there since I made my debut and it will be as long as I am here.
“It’s not really a big deal. What matters is what I do on the field and how I contribute to the team’s success. That’s my focus right now. Let there be noise. If there’s no noise, there’s no fun.”