With Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin announcing his shock retirement after the third Test against Australia at the Gabba, Rohit Sharma gave a hilarious reply as reporters also speculated the same fate for Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara. The veteran opening batter urged reporters not to swirl speculations around retirements of Rahane and Pujara yet.
Ashwin will go down as India’s most successful off-spinner as and their second-highest wicket-taker in Tests with 537 and a total of 765 international scalps. The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer final match for India was the one in Adelaide which the tourists lost by ten wickets.
— Lolzzz (@CricketerMasked) December 18, 2024
When asked by the reporter if he will miss Ashwin on the field, Rohit said:
“Bilkul. Itna experience hai unke paas. Itne matches unhone jitaaye hain toh kahin na kahin, abhi aapko kisi left ya right mein dekhna hai toh yeh log nahin rahenge. By the way Ajinkya Rahane retire nahin hua hai. Aap mereko marwaaoge yaar. Pujara bhi retirement announce nahin kiya hai yaar.”
(Obviously. He has so much experience and played and won several matches. If you want to look around and don’t find those people, it will be odd. By the way, Ajinkya Rahane hasn’t retired yet, nor is Pujara.)
Gabba Test ends in draw as rain has final say
Meanwhile, the third Test between Australia and India at the Gabba finished in a draw as rain had the final say. After Australia dismissed Akash Deep on day five, the hosts went for quick runs but slid to 89/7 before declaring to set India 275 to win. After India faced 2.1 overs for eight runs, the players went off due to bad light and didn’t return due to heavy rain.
The series still remains locked at 1-1 with two more Tests to go. The 4th Test begins on December 26th at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
