‘In four years' time don't know if Jaddu, Ash or I will be around’
Ravichandran Ashwin claimed 25 wickets, while Ravindra Jadeja bagged 22 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, guiding the Indian team to a 2-1 series win.
So, when India captain Rohit Sharma was asked whether the duo would be around when the next edition of the series happens about four years later. Rohit called them ‘marathon men’.
Rohit has always retained his sense of humour but he is also very practical about certain aspects of his game and career.
The next Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India is in 2027 (Australia will host in 2025) and the lethal combination of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin might not be around in four years' time.
"I don't know honestly if they (Jaddu-Ash) will be around. I don't know if I will be around. Four years is a long time. Honestly, for the sake of Indian cricket, I hope they stay and play a lot of cricket. Both of them are marathon players for us."
Rohit had no hesitation in admitting that Ashwin and Jadeja have been the primary reasons for India's success in the last decade.
"Where we stand today in terms of how we perform in the Indian conditions, a lot of credit goes to them. A large part of our success belongs to those two guys. It's not just for a period of a few years, it's over a decade now. It's a long, long time to keep performing the way these two guys have done for us.
"I can only hope that they continue to play for as long as possible because those shoes will definitely be very, very big to fill."
Virat didn't look at scoreboard and just batted
Rohit has played so much cricket with Virat Kohli that one won't find a better person than the Indian skipper to explain the mindset of his longtime teammate.
"Look, he played more than 100 Tests, got so many hundreds, for a player like him, it's a few innings here and there. We saw in white ball cricket, we saw in Asia Cup, he scored that 100 and never looked back. I hope it will be same with red ball as well," Rohit said.
So what was Kohli's "process" all about in his knock of 186 here?
"It's about going out there and applying yourself and doing the same things. He (Kohli) did pretty well and he did his own things rather than worrying about the scoreboard and he just batted the way he bats. Usually that's what got him success," he explained.
Not aware about viral video heckling Shami
On the first day of the Test match, which was attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, a video went viral where few spectators were seen calling out pacer Mohammed Shami and chanting Jai Shree Ram.
Rohit said that he wasn't aware about any such incident.
"Absolutely not aware of this. I heard this for the first time and I don't know what's happened there."
