Skipper Shubman Gill on Rohit Sharma retirement rumours: 'He's not told us anything'

According to India captain Shubman Gill, there have been a lot of talks about senior player Rohit Sharma’s international career lately, but he has not shared anything with him about it.

Before the third ODI at Lord’s on Sunday, in which Rohit hit a brilliant ton in a losing cause, there were speculations that the match might be his final one for the national team. Meanwhile, BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia dismissed the talk.

The 39-year-old Rohit, who now plays just the 50-over format of the game, eventually proved his critics wrong by making history as he became the first Indian player to score a century in ODIs at Lord’s. Gill was asked whether the star Indian cricketer had said anything to him regarding the future.


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In a post-match press conference Gill said, "I mean, we have not had a chance (to speak to him). He's (Rohit) not told us anything. I think it's all out in the media. But there has not been any discussion like that."

Gill praised Rohit's innings that had 17 fours and five sixes scoring 138 off 110 balls.

He said, "I think the way Rohit Bhai paced the innings, it was great. Most of the time I was on the non-striker end watching. The conversation was mostly that if we keep the wickets in hand, then only there will be a chance to chase such a big score. In Powerplay, we were talking that whether to go to hit or not, but we have seen that hitting with a new ball is not that easy. I think the way he paced his innings, and then the way he accelerated after reaching 70, it was great to see."

Shubhman Gill explains Kuldeep Yadav's absence

Gill and the coach Gautam Gambhir faced strong criticism for overlooking Kuldeep Yadav in all three matches while England utilized several spinners effectively in the series.

When asked why Kuldeep was not played in any of the games, Gill admitted it was a mistake not to have played him because looking back, perhaps two spinners would have been the right choice on that pitch.

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"So the matches that we played prior to this, we had seen the wickets get a little bit slower. When we were bowling and when Axar bhai was bowling, it didn't look like the wicket will get that slow, but when they (England) came into bowl, it did look like the wicket got a tad bit slower as the game went on," Gill said.

Gill observed that India's spinners appeared to adopt a defensive mindset whenever they were handed the ball.

"Whenever spinners came in to bowl, we felt like we kind of had to go into defensive the route whenever the fast bowlers were bowling, it felt like something was happening. And that was the thought process behind not playing an extra spinner," He explained.