Shift in Focus Stumped Rohit

 

Cricket aficionados have one big question of late: when will Rohit Sharma and, possibly, Virat Kohli retire from international cricket?Rohit will be 38 years of age this April and even otherwise he certainly is not as fit as some of the other Indian cricketers. In fact, for an international cricketer he is decidedly overweight and slow on his feet. But he is a gifted stroke player who can strike the ball pleasingly well and hard. Virat Kohli is younger and fitter. In fact, although he is well into his mid-30s, he is far fitter than many younger cricketers, thanks to a punishing fitness regimen and extremely disciplined eating habits. Moreover, he is a champion cricketer who has won many stirring battles for India. But both are in the evening of great careers and must call it a day sooner rather than later. The issue with both Rohit and Virat is that their priorities seem to have changed. Now that they have a young family, the family seems to have taken precedence over international cricket and may possibly be the reason why they are not hungrier for success and singularly focused than, say, Yeshasvi Jaiswal and Nitish Kumar Reddy, two young Indian cricketers in their early 20s.The edge seems to have gone out of their game. Rohit skipped the first Test against Australia while stating he wanted to be with his wife during the birth of their second child while reports state that Kohli is looking at an after-cricket life in England for himself and family. So, will Rohit announce his retirement anytime soon? I would be surprised if he does. Not because he still has some long-duration cricket left in him, but because that is the way retirements are structured these days. He would need to consult his agent and sponsors before taking the huge step. His wife, Ritika Sajdeh who handled his account for her cousin’s player management company is on the ball with player marketability and brand valuation. She, and the company, reputedly the largest such talent management company in the country, will carefully evaluate all the pros and cons before arriving at the decision.

Of course, Rohit had already announced his retirement from T20 Internationals after the World T20 triumph in the West Indies earlier last year.The next few months do not have any red-ball Tests, but rather, a flurry of white-ball cricket matches. There is the five T20I match series at home against England from January 22 to 31; Three ODIs, also against England at home, from Feb 6 to 12. These will be followed by India’s Champions Trophy matches in UAE from Feb 19 to March 9. Immediately after these, is the 2025 IPL season in India from March 15 to May 25. In fact, the next Test series, against England, starts only on June 20 and runs till early August. So, there’s no real urgency for Rohit to announce his retirement from international cricket and thereby lose out on player valuation.Of course, if by some miracle India make the WTC final (June 11 to 15 in England) he might still be needed. Meanwhile, his coach Dinesh Lad has said he could play in ODIs till 2027, even if that seems like a pipe dream these days.Choli’s swan song could be the England Test series, particularly if the Indian team management opts to gradually ease out senior cricketers from the squad. Already, Ravichandran Ashwin has chosen to retire and the next three could be Rohit, Virat and, also, Ravindra Jadeja.

DISCLAIMER: 

The views expressed in the Article above are VEDAM JAISHANKAR.  views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing."

Courtesy:  VEDAM JAISHANKAR. and Spade A Spade- 2025 JANUARY