"I’m still young" - Rohit Sharma cheekily comments in interview while speaking about his cricketing mindset
Team India's Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma cheekily commented he is 'still young' while explaining his mindset as a cricketer during an interview. The 37-year-old began a sentence by saying, 'When I was young'. He then paused briefly and added, 'I’m still young', before continuing to explain his views over how he deals with different situations on the cricket field.
Rohit is one of the biggest cricket superstars in the game today. Having made his international debut in 2007, he has represented India in 485 matches across formats and has scored 19,245 runs at an average of 43.15, with 48 hundreds and 106 half-centuries. Under him, the Men in Blue won the 2024 T20 World Cup and were runners-up in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.
During his appearance on Jitendra Chouksey's podcast, Rohit shed light on his mentality as a cricketer and how he has dealt with various challenges that have been thrown at him over the years. He said (as quoted by News 18):
"I don’t think I have practiced for that or I have thought about it. It’s just there. I believe that even when I was young… I’m still young."
“What I am saying is when I was 10 years old, 15 years old, there was a situation where you had to make a decision. There are a lot of runs that you have to chase. So, you know your partner will come with different advice. Even then, my response to that used to be like, OK, let’s see ball by ball, let’s see ball by ball, let’s not go too far ahead," he went on to add.
The opening batter went on to reiterate that this particular cricketing thought process is something that has come naturally to him and is nothing something he has trained very hard for.
"I mean I have never trained for it. You can’t train for all this. It is what is there in you. Some things are naturally built in you, naturally there in you. And I think this is one of the things which was there,” Rohit went on to elaborate.
The right-hander batter is leading India in the two-match Test series at home against Bangladesh. The hosts are 1-0 up in the seriee.
Rohit Sharma had a poor game with the bat in 1st Test against Bangladesh
While India won the first Test against Bangladesh by 280 runs in Chennai, Rohit had a disappointing game with the bat. He was out for six in the first innings and five in the second. Both times he was squared up and nicked deliveries from a pacer to the slip cordon.
Meanwhile, the second India vs Bangladesh Test in Kanpur seems headed for a draw. Only 35 overs of play were possible on Day 1, while Day 2 and Day 3 were completely washed out.