Last Updated: January 10, 2023, 4:25 PM IST
Guwahati [Gauhati]India
Rohit Sharma celebrates his fifty against Sri Lanka in Guwahati.
However, what caught the eye was his half-century celebration. After lifting the bat, he was seen muttering a few words to the heaven. Some said it was an ode to his pet which had passed away a day ago.
India captain Rohit Sharma kicked off the new year on a high as he slammed 83 runs off just 67 balls in the first ODI against Sri Lanka in Guwahati. This was a departure from 2022 where the skipper’s bat failed to make an impact. However, at Guwahati, Rohit went after the bowlers and went onto score a fighting half century. Alongside Shubman Gill (70 off 60), Rohit helped India get to a superb start—143 to be precise.
However, what caught the eye was his half-century celebration. After lifting the bat, he was seen muttering a few words to the heaven. Some said it was an ode to his pet which had passed away a day ago. WATCH
Earlier Rohit Sharma had said that he hasn’t given up on the shortest format despite being sidelined as skipper.
“Firstly, it is not possible to play back-to-back matches. You need to give them (all format players) enough break. I definitely fall in that as well. We have three T20Is against New Zealand. We will see what happens after IPL. I have not decided to give up the format,” Rohit told mediapersons on the eve of first ODI against Sri Lanka.
According to sources, the BCCI wants a young team to be built under Hardik’s leadership for the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA in 2024.
Rohit, another former skipper Virat Kohli and recently sacked vice-captain KL Rahul are not currently a part of the shortest format.
“At the moment I think it was made clear in the past that it’s a 50-over World Cup year for us. And for some of the guys it’s not possible to play all formats,” Rohit replied to a query from PTI on the eve of the first ODI against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.
Rohit said that a new look team has played the T20Is against Sri Lanka due to workload management of some of the senior players.
“If you look at the schedule, there were back-to-back matches, so we decided on just looking at some players’ workload that we wanted to make sure that they get enough break time and manage them. I definitely fall in that (category) as well,” Rohit said.
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