“Angry” Rohit Sharma agreed to retire after selectors’ message ? 

Kolkata : In recent developments, some shocking facts came up that Indian men’s selection committee had conveyed to Rohit Sharma he does not feature in their “scheme of things” and that they are moving on from him during the England tour earlier this year. The selection committee wanted to give a younger batter like Yashasvi Jaiswal a chance in the lead up to the next year’s ODI World Cup.

Rohit though was keen on representing India at the international level having also worked on his fitness. Now, news agency PTI is reporting that the opener was angry at the panel’s decision but eventually agreed to it.

Reports suggested earlier that 3rd ODI against England could be Rohit’s last, where he replied with his Bat scoring a century at Lord’s on July 19. However, he was reportedly also asked about his plans after the Lord’s ODI during India’s recent England tour.

Following an intense reaction online and elsewhere, the BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia denied the report and instead claimed the veteran batter will continue to play for India as long as he remains part of the team’s plan.

BCCI too released a video of Rohit giving his reaction on the reports surrounding his future.

Dismissing the speculations over his future as “noise”, he said, “Look my job is with the bat, come and play, represent my country, represent the team. That’s what I’ve been told to do since I made my debut so that’s what I’m going to do.”

“The noise, since I made my debut, was there. And till the time I’m going to stay here, it’s always going to be there. So it doesn’t really matter too much. What matters is what I do on the field. Try and contribute to the success of the team,” he added.

It is worth noting that ahead of the tournament, one of the biggest discussions around Team India would be the inclusion of veterans Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja. With the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) set to hold a meeting on September 3rd with the World Cup cycle starting, the futures of Rohit and Kohli will be on the agenda.

The meeting will also examine the fitness timelines of centrally contracted players undergoing rehabilitation at the Bengaluru-based Centre of Excellence. Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Akash Deep, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana are among those whose availability has become important to India’s planning.

“The selection committee chief was informally intimated before the Sri Lanka Tests that Jasprit Bumrah would be fit for at least one if not two Tests. In fact, he had written a mail to COE seeking more clarity on Bumrah’s absence,” a source close to the development told PTI.

“His (Bumrah) absence was felt in the second Test where Siraj looked distinctly off-colour on a placid track. Ditto for Hardik Pandya, who hasn’t played anything post IPL and is important as far as the ODI World Cup is concerned,” the source added.

Meanwhile, Pandya has shifted to Bengaluru and intends to train there, but the selectors and team management will not consider him for 50-over cricket unless the Centre of Excellence clears him to bowl 10 overs.

On the other hand, four injured players have been included in India’s T20I squad for the Afghanistan series, subject to fitness: Bumrah, Washington, Nitish and Harshit. All are following Return To Play protocols.