'Shut everybody up': Ravi Shastri hits back at Rohit Sharma's critics after Lord's century vs England

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'Shut everybody up': Ravi Shastri hits back at Rohit Sharma's critics after Lord's century vs England originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:​

• Ravi Shastri said Rohit Sharma shut everybody up with his century at Lord's.
• The former coach believes Rohit should play for as long as he wants to.
• Rohit made 137 from 110 balls, his 34th ODI hundred, in a losing cause.

Ravi Shastri gives back to Rohit Sharma's critics after Lord's century vs England​

Rohit Sharma walked out at Lord's on Sunday under more scrutiny than at any point in his career. Reports had claimed the selectors did not see him in their plans for the 2027 World Cup, with the series decider potentially his final match for India.

His response was emphatic. The 39-year-old brought up his century from 84 balls and finished with 137 from 110, striking 17 fours and five sixes while taking apart Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid and Josh Tongue in the chase of 388.

It was his 34th ODI hundred and the first by an Indian batter at Lord's, though it ended in defeat as England won by 27 runs to take the series 2-1. Ravi Shastri, watching from the commentary box, was in no mood for restraint afterwards.

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Ravi Shastri backs Rohit Sharma to choose his own exit​

Speaking on Sky Cricket, the former India head coach argued that a player of Rohit's standing should never have been put in a position where he needed to prove anything to anybody.

"Rohit didn't need to prove himself, but he has shut everybody up," Shastri said. "When you get those kinds of rumours floating around, it is sometimes irritating. When a player has done that much, he doesn't have to prove anyone anything."

He then made the case for leaving the decision entirely with the batter. "But if he has the desire to play and work hard at his game and is still enjoying it, I think he should be given the opportunity for as long as he wants." Shastri was confident Rohit would recognise the moment himself. "The day will come when he will feel he doesn't have it in him; he'll go," he added.

Rohit, for his part, brushed the speculation aside in a video uploaded by the BCCI. "Look, my job is with the bat. Come and play, represent my country, represent the team. That's what I've been told since I made my debut, so that's what I am going to do," he said. He was equally relaxed about the scrutiny itself.

"The noise, since I made my debut, has been there. And I will stay until I am going to stay here. So, it doesn't really matter too much. Let the noise be there," he said. "If there's no noise, there's no fun. My job is inside; their job is outside."

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Shastri is right on process, less so on selection​

The strongest part of Shastri's argument is about how this was handled rather than who should open. A player learning through media reports that selectors have moved on is a failure of communication, and Ravichandran Ashwin made the same point last week. Where it gets harder is the idea that Rohit should play as long as he wants.

Selection cannot work that way, particularly with a World Cup 15 months away and Yashasvi Jaiswal scoring heavily while waiting for an opening. The innings itself, though, was a genuine argument for his inclusion. Rohit scored 67 from his first 62 balls without taking on Archer, who went wicketless for 45, then accelerated to 70 from his next 48 once the frontline quicks had bowled their spells.

That is a better reading of conditions rather than relying on old instincts. Whether it buys him a place against West Indies in September is now a question for Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar, and one they can no longer answer purely with numbers.


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