Ravi Shastri Calls Rohit Sharma's Lord's 138 A "Tight Slap"
Rohit Sharma's innings of 138 against England in the Lord's ODI was a 'tight slap with the bat' to his critics, according to Ravi Shastri
- Rohit Sharma's hundred at Lord's halted retirement speculation about his career
- Rohit watched The Hundred 2026 match at the Kia Oval as a spectator
- Ravi Shastri praised Rohit's performance, calling it a "tight slap with the bat"
The Lord's ODI between India and England was touted to be Rohit Sharma's last in the Indian shirt, but the veteran opener's valiant hundred in the match has put the retirement chatter to a halt. On Tuesday, Rohit was in the stands as The Hundred 2026 campaign kicked off with the first match between MI London and Sunrisers Leeds at the Kia Oval. Seeing Rohit watching the match at the Kia Oval, India's former coach and commentator for the match, Ravi Shastri, couldn't resist speaking about the debate around his future.
Shastri didn't mince his words over the chatter around Rohit's future, saying his hundred at Lord's was a "tight slap with the bat".
"Well, the hitman is in, Ravi. Yes, he'll be nice and relaxed after silencing his critics. A lot of noise made before that last one-day international, and then a reply, a nice tight slap with the bat. 138. His first hundred at Lord's. Yeah, he's seen it all, five titles for the Mumbai Indians as captain," Shastri said in the commentary box during the match.
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Can't Touch Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli: R Ashwin
Several former cricketers have shared their opinions on the future of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Ravichandran Ashwin took a rather bold stance, saying the duo can't be touched by the selectors or the team management.
"They cannot touch Virat and Rohit if they want to play. It is because of their credentials. Rohit has scored almost 12,000 runs; they cannot touch him. The other thing is that they are batters, and if you touch them, they have an army. People come to see them. If you drop them, it will just break the roof down," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Speaking specifically of Rohit, Ashwin said Rohit's motivation is coming from his own desire to feature at the next ODI World Cup rather than from any need to respond to the critics.
"The position he is in and the way he batted, it's not that difficult for him. We have seen him for so many years; there's nothing left to prove. Whom does he have to prove? It is only about the internal appetite: I want to go to the World Cup, that's why I need to play like this," Ashwin stated.
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England Cricket Team
Rohit Sharma