Rohit Sharma clarified that the door is still open for an Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara comeback.
India captain Rohit Sharma suffered a slip of tongue on Tuesday in the post-match conference, moments after Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement from international cricket, which floored the reporters. The big announcement came after the third Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series ended in a draw, leaving the contest still tied at 1-1.
After Ashwin bid adieu to the sport, drawing curtains on his illustrious career, especially in Test cricket, where he remains as the second-highest wicket-taker for India, and seventh in history, Rohit was asked by a journalist on how it felt to not have senior players like Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara and the senior offie in the national team anymore.
Rohit responded saying he still is in touch with Rahane, who also hails from Bombay, but seldom gets to meet Pujara. He was hopeful that he will remain in touch with Ashwin, as he joked that the veteran bowler is most likely to join the broadcasting unit as an expert in a few years.
“We will always remain friends. Yes, we won’t be seeing each other on the tour, but we will definitely be meeting each other. Ajinkya is from Bombay, and we meet often. Pujara is hiding somewhere in Rajkot, so we don’t meet so often. But Ashwin might join you in a few years, so we will keep meeting him,” he said.
However, midway through his comment, he realised the question and his statement thus far, and immediately corrected himself and the media saying that Rahane and Pujara are yet to retire. Taking an aim at the reporter, he jokingly said that the statement could have found him in a difficult spot in the media in the middle of an important series.
“Let me clarify, Rahane has not retired. You’ll get me killed. Pujara, too, hasn’t retired. I just put them in the same sentence because of your question. At this moment, all three aren’t there in the Indian team, but Ashwin has officially retired. But you never know, Rahane and Pujara might return later and the door is open for them,” he said.
