Rohit Sharma has no clue about the fate of the fifth and final Test in Manchester, which was cancelled after assistant physio Yogesh Parmar tested positive for Covid-19 inside the bio-bubble. The players were wary about themselves and their families, forcing the cricket boards of India and England to cancel the Test.
“I don’t know what’s happening with the last Test match. Whether we have won the series or are we going to play a one-off Test later, but in my eyes we have won the series 2-1. That’s how I would like to look at it,” Rohit said during a virtual news conference on Monday, organised by Adidas to celebrate its ‘Impossible is Nothing’ campaign.
India’s white ball vice-captain echoed what BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had told The Telegraph last month. “Let things settle down a bit, then we can discuss and decide. Whenever it’s held next year, it should be a one-off match since it cannot be a continuation of the series any more,” the former India captain had said.
Personally, the series turned out to be fruitful for Rohit. He was India’s highest run scorer with 368 runs from four Tests at an average of 52.57. He missed out on a century at Lord’s, getting dismissed for 83 in the first innings. At The Oval, Rohit registered his maiden overseas Test century, scoring 127 which helped India regain the lead in the series.
“It was a good one based on where I was standing in Test cricket before that. But I wouldn’t say this was my best. I know my best is yet to come in Test cricket. That’s how I would like to think. But it was a great tour personally for me and for the team as well. For me it was a great challenge and I thought I overcame it pretty well. For that, I did a lot of preparations 15-20 days before the World Test Championship,” Rohit remarked.
“I thought I utilised that time well. I know when you’re playing in England, what sort of mindset or small little technical adjustments you need to make and I somehow managed to do that. So I was pretty happy with how I batted on the tour. I would like to take the confidence forward in my future Test series as well.”
Save rhinos & oceans
The India opener has been actively involved with ‘save the rhinos’ and ‘plastic free ocean’ campaigns. He wears specially designed cricket shoes which carry the message from the two campaigns.
“You go to different places raising awareness, but nothing is better than going on to the field, doing what you love and spreading that message across,” Rohit said about using the shoes during matches.
“I felt sad that there was only one great male northern white rhino left. He died a few years back (2018). It was very hurtful what the poachers were trying to do to the rhinos,” Rohit said. “India and Africa are the two regions where we find the majority of rhinos. I’m trying to do what I can in Africa and India as well. As a human being, what they (rhinos) are going through doesn’t feel right.”
