What Rohit Sharma Told Irfan Pathan When Asked About His ODI Future
Irfan Pathan revealed Rohit Sharma, who has retired from T20Is and Tests, has expressed his wish to continue playing ODIs for as long as possible.
- Rohit Sharma wishes to continue playing ODIs despite retiring from T20Is and Tests, according to Irfan Pathan
- Irfan Pathan revealed that he had a chat with Rohit Sharma over his future in ODI cricket
- “This new (fitness) test is obviously not easy. Had a long call with him to know about his future plans"
Former Indian cricket team all-rounder Irfan Pathan revealed Rohit Sharma, who has retired from T20Is and Tests, has expressed his wish to continue playing ODIs for as long as possible but said getting game-time will be a challenge for the former captain and even Virat Kohli. “This new (fitness) test is obviously not easy, so once you're able to clear it, that means your fitness is top-notch. I had a long call with him as well as far as just to know about his future plans, he's very keen. He wants to make sure that he continues playing,” Pathan said.
“As long as the player is fit, the age doesn't matter. But the challenge will be for him to have a game-time. Playing for India, I don't think there will be any issues with the motivation.
“Be it's Rohit. Be it's Virat or be it's Mohammed Shami as well. How much game-time they will have and how much they can continue playing cricket in whatever form, because they have retired from Test cricket (and) T20 Internationals as well,” Pathan said.
Pathan said Varun Chakravarthy, who had a forgettable outing in T20I format during the 2021 World Cup in the UAE, will be India's X-factor.
“You always think all-rounders bring the x-factor but I'll be excited to actually see how Varun Chakravarthy goes because you must know that there will be a redemption story,” he said.
“Varun was picked for the World Cup in Dubai which happened in 2021. I don't think so he did that well at that particular time. My eyes will be on Varun Chakravarthy because he has a lot of confidence and he can definitely come with the x-factor,” he said.
Pathan reiterated his opinion that workload management for key bowlers including Jasprit Bumrah cannot be done during important assignments.
“You must have heard that Pat Cummins will manage his workload to play the Ashes and would skip matches. But will he manage his workload during the Ashes?” he asked.
“This has been twisted a lot, but I say that by all means everyone's workload should be managed because they play so much. But once you are in a series and if you try and manage workload during that, you will not get the results,” Pathan added.
Rohit Sharma
Virat Kohli
Irfan Pathan
India Cricket Team