Satire: 5 things that can happen in cricket in 2017
2016 is all set to come to an end and 2017 is set to be a memorable year for cricket fans as there are a number of tournaments scheduled to take place in the next calendar year. The 2017 ICC Champions Trophy tops the list of important cricket tournaments that also include the much-anticipated India vs Australia series, the Ashes, the T20 leagues around the world and a few others.
Though we are guaranteed quite a few things like the Fab four (Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, Joe Root) scoring runs throughout the year, R Ashwin taking wickets in Tests, Mitchell Starc bowling yorkers, and a Pakistani batting collapse, there are few things that might not happen in the 365 days of 2017.
On that note, let us take a look at few things that might happen in 2017.
Note: This article is a work of fiction and has nothing to do with reality. Please don't take it seriously.
#1 Rohit Sharma retiring from Tests
Things that died in 2016 - USA, Kickass Torrents, Harambe, Brock Lesnar and finally, Rohit Sharma’s place in the Test team. Karun Nair's recent triple-century not only sealed his spot in Test cricket but also diminished Rohit Sharma's chances of a recall.
The Indian opener in the limited-overs format might have scored tons of runs in ODIs, but he is just as consistent in failing in Tests as R Ashwin is at taking wickets in this format. With Ajinkya Rahane certain to get his place in the Test team when he returns from injury, Rohit will have to fight it out with Karun for the sixth batsman's spot if Kohli decides to go in with 7 batsmen and 4 bowlers.
Given the affinity of Kohli towards Rohit, it won't be a surprise if the skipper decides to go back to square one, i.e. replacing Cheteshwar Pujara with Rohit Sharma in the XI. This will be as baseless as removing Kohli from the ODI team and replacing him with Stuart Binny.
We all know that Rohit is a team man and will not favour Kohli's decision to drop Pujara for him. So, to avoid this selection headache, Rohit Sharma will announce his retirement from the format and work towards becoming a legend in the shorter formats. Imagine the number of ODI double hundreds he will score if he concentrates only on ODIs and T20Is.