I have not decided to give up on T20 format: Rohit Sharma in pre-match press conference

India captain Rohit Sharma in a pre-match press conference on Monday addressed several buzzing questions  on the eve of the 1st One Day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka in Guwahati. In which the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma opened up about his T20I future on the eve of the 1st ODI between India and Sri Lanka. Apart from that, skipper commented on Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness situation terming it ‘very unfortunate’.

Earlier in the day, Bumrah was ruled out of the Sri Lanka ODI series, as per a BCCI press release.

“Very unfortunate. The poor guy has been working really hard at the NCA. He felt stiffness in his back a couple of day ago and if Jasprit Bumrah is saying he is not feeling well, you have to pull him out. We need to be extra careful with Bumrah,” Rohit said on the eve of the first ODI in Guwahati.

Returning to the Indian side after missing the the Bangladesh Tests and the Sri Lanka T20Is due to a dislocated left thumb, Rohit, along with Virat Kohli, will lead the batting charge of the Indian side in the series opener against the reigning Asia Cup champions as hosts India behind their World Cup preparations at home on Tuesday.

“At the moment I think it was made clear in the past that it’s a 50-over World Cup year for us. And for some of the guys, it’s not possible to play all formats. If you look at the schedule, there were back-to-back matches, so we decided on just looking at some players’ workload that we wanted to make sure that they get enough break time and manage them. I definitely fall in that (category) as well,” Rohit stated.

However, the 35-year-old, who also agreed that is not possible for players like him to play all three formats consistently, has no plans to give up on the shortest format of the game. “We have only six T20Is, three are over. So we’ll manage, you know to look after those boys till IPL. Then we’ll see what happens after the IPL. But certainly, I’ve not decided to give up the format,” Rohit told reporters.

Rohit Sharma ends ‘Shubman Gill vs Ishan Kishan’ debate, reveals his opening partner for India vs Sri Lanka ODI series

The veteran Indian opener was rested for the recently concluded T20I series between the Asian giants. With Indian openers Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill retaining their places in the ODI squad after Sri Lanka T20Is, the Indian think tank will have to take a tough call while picking Rohit’s opening partner for the three-match series.

Ending the ‘Shubman Gill versus Ishan Kishan’ debate ahead of the 1st ODI against Sri Lanka, Indian Sharma has revealed his opening partner for the upcoming three-match series. Regarding the opening combination, the Indian skipper said that Shubman Gill will start alongside him while Ishan Kishan will be sitting this one out.

Also read: Breaking News: Jasprit Bumrah to miss ODI series against Sri Lanka

Thank you for reading.