London: India bowling coach Morne Morkel has dismissed concerns over the future of veteran top-order batsman Rohit Sharma ahead of the deciding ODI series against England at Lord’s.
Rohit’s 47-ball 26 in the second ODI as England won by four wickets to level the series 1-1 was backed by Morkel to snap out of a poor run of form that saw him score just one half-century in his previous eight games against Afghanistan in Chennai last month.
“There’s no doubt that Rohit will do it. He’s done it in the past. He’s experienced. And he brings that calmness to the batting line-up. So he has no doubts about things, no worries and no worries,” Morkel told reporters during the pre-match press conference.
Notably, Morkel’s comments came after Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devjit Saikia flatly dismissed reports in the Indian media that the Men in Blue’s third and final ODI at Lord’s would be Sharma’s last.
“There has been a lot of speculation in the media about Rohit Sharma’s future. I want to make it clear that there is no such discussion that Rohit will play his last match at Lord’s on Sunday,” Saikia said in a media statement.
“Rohit is a regular member of the Indian ODI team and will represent the country as long as he is in the scheme of things. In other words, the Lord’s ODI will not be his last match,” Saikia added.
For the uninitiated, a leading Indian news website had reported earlier this week that the country’s selection committee, along with head coach Gautham Gambhir, spoke to the former captain last week and revealed its plans going forward.
The report added that the selectors wanted to give a chance to youngsters like Yashvi Jaiswal, and the 39-year-old was not part of its plans for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, scheduled to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia next year.
“The selectors have said that Rohit is not in their plans after the England tour and they will move away from him after this series,” the report quoted a BCCI source as saying.
“Although he wants to continue, especially after working on his fitness. The selectors have left the ball in Sharma’s court to decide his future,” it added.