‘Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma won’t be able to touch’: Ashwin makes bold statement

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli (Photo by BCCI) NEW DELHI: Former India player Ravichandran Ashwin has backed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and said the two senior batsmen cannot simply drop out if they still want to play for India. Ashwin’s comments came after Rohit silenced the retirement talk with a brilliant century in the third and final ODI against England at Lord’s. Although India lost the match by 27 runs and the series 2-1, Rohit’s 138 reminded everyone why he remains one of India’s greatest match-winners. Ashwin said on his YouTube channel Ash ki Baat, “Rohit Sharma aur Virat Kohli ko touch nahi kar payenge (They won’t be able to touch Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma). They can’t touch Virat and Rohit if they want to play. It’s because of their credentials. Rohit has scored almost 12,000 runs; they can’t touch him.”Ashwin said there is another major reason why the two stars are hard to miss.“The other thing is they’re untouchable because they’re batsmen. They’ve got an army, a battalion. People come to watch them. When you drop them, it breaks the roof.”Ashwin also pointed out that bowlers do not get the same level of public support as star batsmen.“But if Shami, Siraj or Bhuvneshwar are not selected, 10 people will ask. 100 people, 1000 people, maybe 10,000 people will ask. But they won’t make noise. If the day comes when people make noise for bowlers, it would be difficult to drop them too.”

Rohit answers critics with Lord’s century

Rohit’s place in the ODI side has come under intense scrutiny after reports claimed that the BCCI selection committee is not considering him for the 2027 ODI World Cup.The India captain had scores of 11 and 26 in the first two ODIs against England before producing a stunning knock in the series decider.Chasing 388 at Lord’s, Rohit smashed 138 off just 110 balls, hitting 17 fours and five sixes. He kept India’s chase alive almost till the end even though the visitors ended up losing by 27 runs.

‘There will be noise’

After the match, Rohit made it clear that the speculation about his future never bothered him.In an interview with BCCI.tv, he said that outside criticism has always been a part of his career and that his only focus is performing for India.

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Share an opinion“Look, my job is with the bat… To represent my country… That’s what I’m going to do. The noise… Ever since I made my debut, I’ve been there and till I stay here, it will always be there. So it doesn’t really matter much. What matters is what I do on the field,” Rohit said.