Rohit Sharma, who was the highest run-getter for India in the four Tests, believes that India are the real winners of the Test series although officially final result has to be decided by the England Cricket Board, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the ICC.
Team India opener Rohit Sharma had a phenomenal tour of England recently where many believe that he came off age a Test cricketer. India were leading the series 2-1 heading into the fifth and final Test but the series came to an abrupt end due to a spate of COVID-19 cases in the Indian camp, including head coach Ravi Shastri.
Rohit, who was the highest run-getter for India in the four Tests, believes that India are the real winners of the Test series although officially final result has to be decided by the England Cricket Board, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the ICC.
“In my eyes, we have won the series. I don’t know what will happen with the final Test of the series yet – whether we will play it as a one-off Test or series will be decided as it is. We don’t have any clarity on that yet,” Rohit said a virtual press conference arranged by Adidas on Monday (October 4).
Rohit averages 46.87 in Test cricket, ended up with 368 runs in four Tests at an average of 52.57 with one hundred and two fifties. The Indian opener was only behind England captain Joe Root, who scored 564 runs in the four Tests. The century in the fourth Test was also Rohit’s first one in England.
“England tour was a good one for me. I won’t call it my best, because my best in Test cricket is still to come,” the 34-year-old added.
“I am really happy with how I batted on that tour. I will now look to take that forward and build on that success in Test cricket,” he said.
Currently, Rohit is leading the Mumbai Indians but the five-time Indian Premier League champions are struggling at 7th place on the points table. Meanwhile, after yet another loss to Delhi Capitals on Saturday (October 2), Rohit counted himself among the batting failures this season as MI yet again settled for a below-par score of 129 for 7 and could not defend it.
“If your batters aren’t going to post runs on the board, it will be difficult to win games. I personally accept that. We’re not able to execute in the middle, which is particularly disappointing,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“We are not playing to our potential. Hopefully in the next two games, we play the way we are known for.”
Rohit said they knew that Sharjah ‘will be a difficult venue’ and prepared in the best possible manner.
“We watched a lot of matches, and it’s not the easiest venues to play and make a lot of runs. We were well prepared and we knew what we had to do,” he said. “I thought we didn’t bat well enough. We knew it wasn’t a 170-180 wicket, but we knew it was a 140 wicket. We just didn’t get the partnerships going.”
