For Rohit Sharma, the outside noise has remained throughout his international career spanning nearly 20 years and he knows that it will stay till he’s playing for India.
However, the former India captain remains unfazed about anything and everything that’s happening outside the field and wants to focus on contributing for the team’s cause.
Ahead of the third ODI against England, reports had circulated that it could be Rohit’s final international match, having already retired from T20Is and Tests. However, the dashing opener came all guns blazing to score his 34th international century at Lord’s.
“Look my job is with the bat, come and play, represent my country, represent the team,” Rohit told BCCI.TV after the game on Sunday.
“That’s what I’ve been told to do since I made my debut so that’s what I’m going to do. The noise, since I made my debut, was there. And till the time I’m going to stay here, it’s always going to be there. So, it doesn’t really matter too much. What matters is what I do on the field. Try and contribute to the success of the team,” he added.
“That’s all my focus is right now. And let the noise be there. If there’s no noise, there’s no fun. My job is inside; their job is outside. That’s how I look at it.”
Rohit scored 138, chasing a record 388-run target, but India lost the match by 27 runs and also the three-match series 1-2.
“A little disappointed with the result because I thought we were playing really good cricket. How we started in Birmingham, we played some really good cricket. We fell a little short at Cardiff with the bat actually. It was not enough score on the board. And then here again there was a massive total to chase. We tried everything we could with the bat but again fell 20-25 runs short,” Rohit said.
He insisted that the team needed to move on from the “disappointing” result and find a way to bounce back in the future.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma added 113 runs for the second wicket. | Photo Credit: AFP
“We couldn’t finish off the game and get the result in our favour. But yeah, we have to move on from this and try and see how we can get better and see what better we can do as a group. Not just individuals - it’s about the group, the collective effort from the group is needed. And that’s what I think the team should be focusing on.”
During the chase, Rohit found a familiar face to partner him and take the game forward: Virat Kohli, who scored 74. The duo added 113 runs for the second wicket and while the two were there, India sniffed a win.
“We’ve played our entire career together, so it was nice to have him in the middle. We’ve had lot of partnerships. It’s always fun batting together. We understand each other so much and, it’s always nice in the middle bouncing off ideas, try and see what we can do. So, there was a lot of conversation that was going around in between when we were batting,” Rohit said.
With India not scheduled to tour England for ODIs till at least 2028, Rohit has potentially played his final innings in the country. Reflecting on his experience, he said that he enjoyed his time in England but was disappointed not to end the series on a high note.
“I love playing in England. There’s no doubt about it. The atmosphere, the ground, the pitches. When you turn up here to play any sort of format, it challenges you in different ways and that’s what as a cricketer you want. You want to be challenged all the time. I had my time in the middle. I enjoyed it, but again, like I said, a little disappointed with the result.”
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Published on Jul 20, 2026