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Rohit Sharma not fussed over losing his place in the Test squad

Rohit Sharma says he just want to enjoy cricket and make the most of all the opportunities

By Unnikrishnan
Rohit Sharma says he still nourishes the dream of playing Test cricket

Mumbai, May 29: Rohit Sharma has an entirely different Test career when compared to his time as an ODI batsman. While Rohit is an automatic choice in limited over versions, the Mumbaikar had gone through a stop-start Test career.

"There's a limited time you have as a player and I have finished almost half of it," said Rohit during the CEAT Cricket Awards in Mumbai.

"I am going forward with the theory of 'whatever time I have, make it count'. I got into the national team when I was 20 and I made my Test debut when I was 26. I had an opportunity to make my debut in 2010 but I missed that (due to an injury). After that, it made me realise that the more you want, your attitude changes. I have realised there's a time for everything," said Rohit, whose modest 78 runs from two Tests against South Africa saw him getting dropped for the one-off Test against Afghanistan.

RAHANE CONFIDENT OF ODI RETURNRAHANE CONFIDENT OF ODI RETURN

"For me, I am not at a stage to worry about whether I'll be picked or not. The first five-six years of my career, it was all about 'Oh, will I be picked? Will I play?' Now it's all about enjoying the game. These things keep adding pressure on you. Instead, it's best to enjoy yourself in what you do and give your best.

"After a point, I realised there's no point thinking about it (selection). No point in thinking about what the selectors are doing and all. There's no time to regret about anything. I've had enough time to regret in the past. We have got big events coming up, so best to focus on it," said Rohit.

However, Rohit insisted that his dream of playing Test cricket is far from over. "As a child, all I dreamt of was to play Test cricket and that dream will never be over.

"Nobody can take away my game or what I think about the game. Selectors can do what is best in their control, players will do what is in their control. It's important to keep focus. When I started playing cricket, there was no white-ball cricket. We used to play in school, in age-group cricket with red ball. White ball came much later. As a child, you only saw red-ball cricket," he said.

Rohit also had a disappointing IPL 2018, failing to take his side defending champions Mumbai Indians into the knockout stage and he scored just 286 runs. "I thought we were a little inconsistent in whatever we did as a team. We should have put out hands up when needed, including myself, but that didn't happen, so that was disappointing.

"A disappointing campaign without a doubt. I said many times during the season that this team was much, much better. I think we had a much better squad than most of the other teams who went on to qualify also. But again, we have ourselves to blame for it. We made too many mistakes.

"And personally for me, it was not a great season. I expected a lot from the standards I have set for myself and the kind of performance I have had lately. I gave myself full chance to go out there and do what I could. I started off well with a few innings and then towards the end when it was needed the most, it didn't happen," said Rohit.

Story first published: Tuesday, May 29, 2018, 14:27 [IST]
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