Former Indian captain Anjum Chopra believes Rohit Sharma should decide his ODI future by himself, as he has delivered consistently over the years for the team. There have been doubts raised about Rohit’s future but he has been included in the ODI series against the West Indies.
Rohit scored a stunning knock of 138 runs off just 110 balls in the last ODI against England to put all doubts about his future to bed. The veteran batter has performed consistently over the years and has also worked hard on his fitness in recent times.
“Ultimately, that decision belongs to the player. Every cricketer knows their own situation, whether they still have the desire, the freshness and the enthusiasm to continue,” Chopra said in an interview with NDTV.
“Personally, I have always felt that players like MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma should just keep playing because they are such talented cricketers who make the game look beautiful with their presence and stroke play.”
The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that retirement is inevitable for every player but backs them to take their own call.
“Of course, nobody can play forever, and every player eventually has to make a decision,” Chopra added. “But it should always be driven by the player. Once they are convinced that the time is right, everything else will fall into place.”
On the other hand, Chopra reckons Sanju Samson should be allowed to play freely amid the rising pressure from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Samson recently scored two fifties against Afghanistan.
“I think we should let Sanju Samson be,” the cricketer-turned-commentator said. “Playing for India always comes with pressure and competition, and every player understands that they need to keep performing. But no one likes to feel a constant question mark hanging over their place in the team. Sanju should be allowed to play freely.”
“Suryavanshi is a great talent. He has already made it to the Indian setup and will remain in contention. But we should remember that players such as Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Rinku Singh have also worked hard and earned their opportunities,” she concluded.
Samson and Sooryavanshi will be in action in the Asian Games.
